Time With God

Friday, Nov 20, 2009

11-20 It’s that Love Thing

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There was a bunch of things that went on yesterday! When I look back, I’m amazed at how busy it was! But let me talk about construction. Yesterday Mike and Bill were up on the roof sealing it. It really did look great once they were done if you are an admirer of black tar! I can’t wait to find out if it stopped the leak. Then they cut me two pieces of plywood which I used to make a few “stage risers” for our Christmas program. In fact I spent a few hours cutting six of them to size. More construction ahead!

Today's Scripture reading is 2 Chronicles 15; Jeremiah 1; Acts 28
To Listen to Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com
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Today’s thought comes from 1 Peter 1:8-9 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.

“All you need is love!” (Beatles) “I will always love you!” (Whitney Houston) “My endless love” (Lionel Richie) “Because you loved me.” (Celine Dion) “I think I love you” (Partridge Family) “It must have been love” (Roxette) “I want to know what love is” (Foreigner). So, did any of those “Unchained Melodies” (Elvis Presley) play in your head as you read them? Foreigner’s song especially interested me. Here’s a few lyrics “In my life there's been heartache and pain. I don't know if I can face it again. Can’t stop now, I’ve traveled so far to change this lonely life. I wanna know what love is..... I want you to show me...... I wanna feel what love is..... I know you can show me......” Our world is enamored with love, but love is an elusive thing. What is love? This is one of the most difficult definitions for mankind! Erich Fromm said that "Love is the only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence." We may not be able to define it well, but I’m pretty sure everybody wants it. It makes up for the loneliness, heartache and pain of life, doesn’t it? If only to know that I am loved, that makes life worthwhile. And it is nice if you have the ones you love close at hand. I just read facebook and noticed that this Thanksgiving there are a few families who can’t wait to get together and hang out. “Can’t wait to see you next week!” “Miss u too mama!” “Sooooooo looking forward to next week…” But can you really love someone you’ve never seen face to face, can’t talk on the phone to, and can’t text or IM? It happens. It happens all the time. We love Him even though we’ve never seen Him. Does that make our love any less real? To some people it does. Why? Because a relationship takes emotional investment. I’m really not great at the relationship thing. Intimate relationships take lots of up close and personal time, ups and downs, understanding, give and take and lots of change and forgiveness to get closer. I don’t know if I really want to get THAT close to many people. Staying at a distance is good for me. But it doesn’t work if you want love, and it doesn’t work if you want a love relationship with Jesus Christ. To love the one you have never seen, you have to spend time in the dark talking to the guy you can’t see, even though he can hear you. Really. You have to be willing to pay the price of solitude, meditation and reflection. The reason we don’t have a deeper, intimate relationship with Jesus is because we haven’t regularly invested important chunks of time listening to His voice. He speaks though His Word. Listen to it often. He speaks through His Church. Soak it in regularly. He speaks through His Creation. Find some time to connect. He speaks through His still small voice we call the Holy Spirit. Are you listening? If so, then your love will grow.

Dear Jesus. I love You. I am ready to invest some important sums of time into our relationship. I don’t want to just walk around the periphery of love, I want to be right in the middle of it. I know You love me and are anxiously waiting for me to dive in. I’m coming.

Because Your loving kindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.

Posted by Dennis Kreiss at 10:55 AM | MAKE A COMMENT

Thursday, Nov 19, 2009

11-19 Believing is Seeing

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I am a rich man. Though you’d never know it by inspecting my balance sheet! But there’s more to wealth than cold cash, or so I’ve been told! Yesterday Mike phoned me up just to pray with me, that was rich! He read a passage from Joel 2:11-17 that God had laid on his heart to share with me… great stuff! You ought to read it! And then Larry stopped by to talk and pray with me, and Ken joined us. It doesn’t get any better than this, until eternity! Thanks guys and keep praying!

Today's Scripture reading is 2 Chronicles 14; Isaiah 66; Acts 27:27-44
To Listen to Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com
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Today’s thought comes from 1 Peter 1:8-9 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.

Seeing is believing… or is it? I’ve seen a lot of things I don’t believe in. In fact our society programs us to see things we know are not and can not be true. Every night, most of you watch television shows that portray imaginary scenarios that have never and will never happen. Yet there they are, day after day, carefully acted out before your very eyes! We see far out fantasies like flying monkeys, transformers, superheros that can do gravity defying stunts, flame on, turn into a stack of bricks, gain spidey sense… and don’t forget the mind bending, physics defying, special effects that simply have no basis in the real world at all! Seeing is not believing. Believing is seeing! Ask anyone, “Do you believe in UFO’s? Ghosts? The Loch Ness Monster? Black Helicopters?” Next ask, “Have you ever seen one?” Probably not, but don’t let that stop you! I’ve seen it on TV! Or, my brother has seen one, or my second uncle’s great nephew’s girlfriend’s fiancé’s neighbor has. We expect to see what we believe in! Ask any evolutionists you happen to see, what’s the best tuna soon to be? A Chicken from the sea! Has anyone ever seen a tuna turn into a chicken? Has anyone ever seen evolution occur? No way José! But since believing is seeing, evolutionists all over the world have created an immense library of theories, charts, museum’s, documentaries and teaching tools all meant to convince themselves that it must be true! If you believe it, you have the expectation of vindication. Every real belief you have has real world implications. I believe that love will make me happy, so I seek love. I believe that money will give me the stuff I need so I seek profitable employment. I believe that taxes and big government are good / bad so I either become a tax and spend liberal or a fiscal conservative. I believe that discipline means I love / don’t love my children, so I become a firm disciplinarian or I let my kids do as they please. Believing is seeing. Unfortunately that means some of the stuff we believe is just wrong. But it also means that some of the stuff that we’ve never seen is spot on! Like Jesus. Have you ever seen him? But you believe He is God come in the flesh? Why? Well, we’ve got a library of charts, theories, museum’s, documentaries and teaching tools that tell us it is so. But there are a lot of people who don’t believe? They claim to have evidence to the contrary. How do you determine what to believe about what you have not seen? Examine the evidence. Use some common sense... and then take a leap of faith. Faith is just as necessary for atheists as it is for theists, for the godless and for the godly. At some point you must choose what you believe. Not to choose is to choose. But here’s the hitch. To choose erroneously is to believe a fantasy that, in the end will not only be laughable, but is downright dangerous to your health, life and future. I’ve chosen Jesus. Whom having never seen I love. And though I have never seen him I still believe in him and expect to receive His promised gift of eternal life. That’s worth a hoorah! It’s also something I’m willing to live for!

Dear Lord Jesus. I believe in you. I’ve read the stories. I’ve checked out the evidence. It is overwhelming. I believe. I place my faith in you with the expectation that reality will triumph in the end! I stake my life on it!

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus

Posted by Dennis Kreiss at 11:07 AM | MAKE A COMMENT

Wednesday, Nov 18, 2009

11-18 Coming Soon

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Drip, drip, drip… Bill brought me outside. “I’ve tried to patch this roof, and it’s not working!” That’s not good! Water always seems to find a way. We stared up at the roof, crawled on top of it, scrutinized it from every angle and even prayed over it… it still leaks! Bill is such a hard working guy. Always doing for the Lord. He’s here at church so often, by himself hammering away. “Dear God, send someone who knows how to fix our roof!” That would encourage him.

Today's Scripture reading is 2 Chronicles 13; Isaiah 65; Acts 27:1-26
To Listen to Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com
to subscribe go to http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com/rss.xml

Today’s thought comes from 1 Peter 1:6-7 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ

It has been estimated that about 1 in 20 verses in the New Testament speak either directly or indirectly about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ! His coming is our hope. Christians hold to the view that this same Jesus who walked the earth 2000 years ago and ascended into heaven will come back one of these days. In His first coming, He entered into history in a way similar to every other child: He was born. But that’s where the similarities end. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, unlike the rest of us. He lived a sinless life, unlike the rest of us. After he was certifiably dead for three days, he resurrected and then he ascended into heaven, unlike the rest of us! While the disciples were staring up at Him, an angel stopped in and told them that Jesus would come back in the same way he left. The second coming of Christ will be even more dramatic than the first coming! There are some six Greek words that describe Jesus return. They tell the story of what we can expect when He comes. The first one is used in Acts 1:11 Erchomai – which simply means to come from one place to another. The disciples were told that Jesus would come from heaven and come to the earth. Zech 14:4 indicates that He will set down on the Mount of Olives. If you want to have a front row seat, move to the Holy Land. The second word is used in 1 Peter 1:7 Apokalupsis – It means a revealing or unveiling. The second coming begins when Jesus enters our physical world and uses the sky and clouds like a curtain call. First there is nothing there but a few clouds and blue sky, and then there is! Jesus is suddenly revealed to the world with all His mighty angels in tow. The next two words are similar to Apokalusis in meaning. Phaneroo – means to make oneself visible or to expose oneself to view. When Jesus shows up in the all his glory, good news! we will be with Him! Col 3:4. Optanomai means to allow one’s self to be seen. If you haven’t seen Jesus lately, it’s because he is playing “hide and seek.” Olly Olly Oxen Free day is the day He returns. Heb 9:28 says that when he came the first time, he took our sin with Him, and when he comes the second time, he will come without our sin because he has disposed of it! That’s good! The next word is Parousia – which emphasizes His arrival plus His "personal presence." This is a word which means “I’m here!” Again, the good news is that Jesus is “coming with His saints” 1 Thes 3:13. The last word is Epiphaneia from which we get our English word epiphany. This word means “the glorious manifestation of his magnificent presence. 2 Thess 2:8 talks about “the brightness of His coming!” This is no anticlimactic event which gets only a passing sentence on the 11 O’clock news. This is riveting and unavoidable. It is the culmination of human history! When Jesus comes, every eye will see!

Dear Lord Jesus, come quickly. We are waiting. As men waited for your first coming for thousands of years in hope that you would take our sins away, so we wait patiently for your return now that you have disposed of our sins! Help us to love, desire and anticipate your coming!

To God be the glory, great things he has done

Posted by Dennis Kreiss at 10:36 AM | MAKE A COMMENT

Tuesday, Nov 17, 2009

11-17 Me? Pleasing to God?

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Dave called me last night. He sounded very concerned. He had just tuned into Family Radio and Harold Camping was answering questions on his program “Open Forum.” Mr. Camping said some very confusing and disturbing things that prompted Dave to call me. My answer was and is simply this: Harold Camping is a False Teacher and his station Family Radio which he founded and runs is also in apostasy. Camping falsely predicted Christ’s return in 1994, when that didn’t happen he said he missed the date by 7 years. The new date is 2011. He predicted the beginning of the Tribulation in 1988. Among other weird and false beliefs, he says that Michael the Archangel is Jesus (Like the JW’s). He teaches that people should leave all churches and instead should go to “Family Radio Meetings” where his strange doctrines are taught (like a cult!). He claims to use the Bible as his own authority, but his viewpoints supersede the Bible. My suggestion? Tune him out. The Bible says don’t even listen to false teachers – Rom 16:17, 2 Tim 3:5, 2 John 1:10

Today's Scripture reading is 2 Chronicles 12; Isaiah 64; Acts 26
To Listen to Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com
to subscribe go to http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com/rss.xml

Today’s thought comes from 1 Peter 1:6-7 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ

Is your life to the “praise, honor and glory… of Jesus Christ?” Maybe on a good day it is, or maybe not. Perhaps you just had an argument with your spouse. You can still feel the anger and venom in the pit of your stomach. Or perhaps you just “slipped up” and took “the name of the Lord in vain.” Or maybe you like to gossip about the faults of others, or you struggle with jealousy over how much other people have and how little you have, or maybe you have trouble keeping away from online porn. There’s a long list of reasons why God could not possibly be pleased with us! The works of the flesh are evident in your life and you are living in shame! The goal of the Christian is to have a genuine faith that pleases Jesus, but how do I get that? I have such a struggle with the flesh! I find it difficult, almost impossible to live life the way I wish it could be lived! Paul admitted that he had the same problem in Galatians 5:17. Every Christian fights the same battle against various fleshly problems. I want to see if I can lay out a few Scriptural principles that will help. #1 Watch yourself! Matt 26:41 - Set out “early warning” boundaries so that you catch the temptation early on when it is manageable. #2 Pray hard! “Watch and pray.” Engage in fervent prayer. I’d dare say that most of us haven’t really experienced the power of earnest prayer and fasting. #3 Cleanse your conscience. In the Old Testament when a person was considered unclean he would have to go through ritual washing, and then he was clean. In the New Testament we are to wash ourselves with “Confession to Jesus” and then we are clean. 1 John 1:9. Never fail to admit your faults to one another and to God – James 5:16. #4 Walk in the Spirit Gal 5:16. What this means is that you need to set your mind on spiritual things. Stop focusing on those sins, going over and over them in your mind and instead begin praising God, memorizing Scripture, singing praise songs etc Rom 8:5. This is primarily a spiritual battle and can only be won by living in the Spirit. We gain the victory, not so much by avoiding our sins, but by embracing and pursuing God with all our heart. …And that is what makes us pleasing to him! That’s what brings him Glory! Praise Him, Think about Jesus, Focus on God, live out your day in fellowship with God and like a giant spiritual transformation, you are to the praise of His glory.

Dear Father, I want to be pleasing to You! Please remind me to keep my mind focused on things that are spiritual so that I don’t slip back into the sad state of temptation. I choose to think on Jesus. I choose to think on things that are true, right, just and honorable and avoid thoughts that drag me down.

Cast your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.

Posted by Dennis Kreiss at 11:07 AM | MAKE A COMMENT

Monday, Nov 16, 2009

11-16 The Gold Standard

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Cody and Alyssa went to lunch with us. It started with Vacation Bible School. Ten or fifteen years ago Alyssa and her sister went to our VBS! Now she’s a mom and her son came to our VBS this year! From there it was a nice transition to Awana. And yesterday the three of them were in church, so we invited them out to lunch! Cody and I talked about Lacrosse and Soccer. He played and coached Lacrosse in Roseburg. We talked about his church background. He grew up in a good church in Roseburg, the only contact that Alyssa had was our VBS! Now that they have their own family they are seeking God! What a great testimony to the faithfulness of God!

Today's Scripture reading is 2 Chronicles 11; Isaiah 63; Acts 25
To Listen to Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com
to subscribe go to http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com/rss.xml

Today’s thought comes from 1 Peter 1:6-7 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ

Fools Gold! A 2004 investigation revealed that more than half of jewelry stores around the US were selling "fool's gold" and passing it off as real! Who would have guessed? I’m looking at my wedding ring, and there are some tiny markings on it, but I can’t read them. Even if it said 24K there is no guarantee that an honest person did the job. How do you know if your gold jewelry is real or fake? There are several ways. If you have owned it for a while, the easiest test is to see if it tarnishes. Real gold does not tarnish. Anything 10K or less is considered fake. A 10K gold piece is only 42% gold! So if it is only plated, sometimes you can use a magnet to detect fool’s gold. Gold is not magnetic. If it’s attracted to a magnet, forget it! …or you can take it to a jeweler. The jeweler can do an acid test to determine the gold content. However, the most accurate method is assaying or testing gold by fire. First you weigh the gold. Melt it at 1100 degrees C. All other metals will be removed at this heat. Now you have pure gold… sorry that you don’t have your original wedding ring anymore, but at least you’ll know it’s pure! Gold that has been “tried by fire” is pure gold! That’s the guarantee of purity. Our faith is compared to pure gold. Gold has always had intrinsic value since the beginning of human history. Gold has been the measure of wealth and prosperity. It has been the metal of choice for trading, buying and selling. It is the Gold Standard. There is something intrinsically valuable about faith. Fidelity or faithfulness is the slogan of the Marines; “Semper Fidelis,” Always Faithful. Who can calculate the worth of someone you can always depend on? A solid rock, an unmoving bastion of faithfulness. If you have a faithful friend, you are a wealthy individual. God is looking for faith in his children. Faith is not simply holding fast, it is holding fast to the truth. There are two things that make it genuine. #1 It’s ability to persevere and #2 it’s genuine content. They are related. If the content is not genuine, sooner or later the perseverance will fail. But when genuine faith is tested by various trials… the death of a loved one, a debilitating sickness, loss of all earthly possessions, or heated persecution… certainly we may waver, that’s human. But in the end, genuine faith will persevere! When we are melted down so that we have nothing left but our faith and our character, and though we lie stripped, naked and bleeding beneath the torturers blows, if your faith is genuine, nothing can take it from you. It is what is left over when all the niceties of life are melted away. And genuine faith, like gold is priceless! It is to the praise, honor and glory of God!

Dear Lord. When through the fiery trials of life my pathway shall lie, your grace all sufficient will be my supply. The flame will not hurt me, You only design the dross to consume and the gold to refine! I believe that. I don’t relish it, but I do relish the value of genuine faith!

He shall regard the prayer of the destitute, And shall not despise their prayer.

Posted by Dennis Kreiss at 11:23 AM | MAKE A COMMENT

Friday, Nov 13, 2009

11-13 Healthy, Wealthy and Wise

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“This is a step in the fulfillment o f a dream I had in 1992.” I was having a conversation about our Home Groups with one of the guys in our church… I could sense that he was sharing something intensely personal with me. “It was only a few flickering frames, but the vision deeply impressed me. My wife and I were ministering to a group of people. I don’t know where it was, but there we were.” 1992 is a long time ago. It’s amazing how time can make us think that the dream is dead. It’s also amazing that He keeps the dream alive! “Do you dream of me?” Jesus asks. When believers dare to have great dreams about what God wants them to do, my job is to train, facilitate, bless and eventually commission them to the work! “Do you dream of Me?”

Today's Scripture reading is 2 Chronicles 10; Isaiah 62; Acts 24
To Listen to Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com
to subscribe go to http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com/rss.xml

Today’s thought comes from 1 Peter 1:6-7 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ

Jesus wants you well. If you’ll just send me one thousand dollars, I’ll send you a twice blessed vial of holy olive oil that will heal any sickness or disease! And for ten thousand dollars, I’ll send you a prayer shawl… If you pray regularly with this prayer shawl covering your head, you will become successful in every endeavor and have every prayer of yours answered! Send money now! Funny how American Christians think we can measure God’s blessings by health, wealth and success. “Once you come to Christ he will make you happy and take all your problems away!” Really? In the rest of the world it works something like this. Abbas Abu converts to Christianity and immediately loses his job. His family tries to poison him. He escapes from his home town with noting more than the clothes on his back which are bloodied from the beating that almost took his life. He wanders from place to place, hungry, gaunt and cold, always fearing for his safety. All for the crime of trusting Jesus! How different this is than the health, wealth and prosperity gospel! But this was the Apostle Paul’s experience. Everywhere he visited they had a riot! … or a beating, or a stoning, or a shipwreck, or hunger, or betrayal. And this was Jesus message to us, “In the world you shall have tribulation.” “If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.” NEWSFLASH! Jesus didn’t come to make you happy, he came to make you holy! You are here to make Him happy! Now that is not to say that Christianity doesn’t bring joy. But joy is a world away from happiness. Happiness depends on happenings. If things happen to turn out well, you and I are happy. If I win the lottery, stay healthy, have lots of good friends, get an amazing birthday gift, go on a cruise, shoot a record breaking elk, get to go fishing every day, get promoted at work, see my football team win the Superbowl, get to go to the Superbowl… then I’m happy! But Joy doesn’t have the same downer that happiness experiences when bad things occur. Happiness is based on changing circumstances, while joy is based on the unchanging promises of God. There is no question that trials and difficulties grieve us, but a Christian who understands his place in the kingdom of God rejoices not only because life is good, but because our real, genuine, lasting hope is in heaven! Joy is based on what Jesus has done for me! He saved me and gave me eternal life! No threat of man nor trial on earth can take that from me. So when I’m in a trial, I remember hope! I remember heaven! I rejoice because tomorrow the sun will rise on eternal joy!

Dear Father. I want to learn to rejoice in good times and bad. I want to learn to thank you for the things that are important like Eternal Life, Your presence in my life and Jesus! These are things that can never be taken from me. No matter what happens to me, I rejoice in You!

The LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.

Posted by Dennis Kreiss at 10:29 AM | MAKE A COMMENT

Thursday, Nov 12, 2009

11-12 The Revealing

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I think it’s time I give a Time With God report to you all so you can better pray for this ministry. Here is the state of TWG. I send out emails to 40 individuals every day. Some of them email me back on a regular or semi-regular basis. I really appreciate feedback. Keep those emails coming! I also upload the Time With God podcast to the net. Since my server no longer provides statistics it is impossible to know how many downloads per podcast I get. Six months ago when stats were working I averaged about 1500 downloads per month, an average of 50 per day! I have no idea what it is now. I have been able to use Google Analytics since that time and can get different statistics… such as… people from 39 states and 35 countries have visited my site. The most interesting is in Pakistan where I seem to have about 7 regular listeners! In the United States I have 60 or 70 regular listeners. Approximately 35 are from Oregon, Georgia is second with 13, and 10 in Washington… There’s more statistics, but I won’t bore you with them. There you have it! Keep us in prayer!

Today's Scripture reading is 2 Chronicles 9; Isaiah 61; Acts 23:12-35
To Listen to Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com
to subscribe go to http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com/rss.xml

Today’s thought comes from 1 Peter 1:5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

We all know, or at least we should know, that Christmas is all about Jesus. But for sake of illustration, I want to talk about the main business of our commercialized society: Christmas Presents. Every year a lot of thought goes into buying or making each other something significant that will say, “I love you and I’m thinking about you.” Growing up, seeing gifts under the tree always brought on a spirit of anticipation. What was in those brightly wrapped boxes? I had to know! Once I got carried away and peeled back the wrapping paper so I could get a sneak peek! I had to bury the present in the back to avoid detection. I found that the anticipation was better than the gift! In fact sometimes the anticipation was so high that the gift just did not make the cut! I expected more and got less. As a child, sitting in the living room strewn knee high with wrappers and a pile of loot next to my chair, I frequently felt emptiness and disappointment. Stuff just doesn’t satisfy, at least not for long! That’s why we need to teach the kids about the heart behind the gift. Someone loved you enough to think of you, so, no matter whether we like the gift or not we always say “thanks!” I have a strange tradition that I have carried out for years. I keep my gift for Susan hidden until the morning of Christmas and then sneak it under the tree before she gets up. She never has any idea of what it could possibly be because it’s never revealed until Christmas morn. It’s always the most expensive gift in the house. (Expensive is relative, you understand. Expensive to us may be a pittance to others and often is!). OK… now I’m going to try to tie my illustration to the verse. God has given us the gift of salvation! IT is the best one in the house. Believe it! No one can steal this gift from us because “we are kept by the power of God.” Our gift is secure. However, none of us can tell who else has the gift and who doesn’t have it by the pretty wrapping on the outside! We look on the outward appearance, but God knows the heart. We live in anticipation of the day when God will step down into history and have the final Christmas present roundup of all time. On that day He will reveal who has the gift and who does not. God knows who are His! If you have trusted Christ as your Savior, you are one of his gifts, and once the wrapping paper is off, the opening will be better than the anticipation! Every expectation will be surpassed on that day! The good news is that once he saves you, then he keeps you and finally he reveals you on that last Christmas day! Saved, Kept, Revealed… that is what every Christian has to look forward to! I can’t wait for him to unwrap that gift!

Dear Lord Jesus, thanks for your indescribable gift to me! Save me, keep me and reveal me as one of your own on that day! I have confidence in that process by faith because you promised it. I thank you for security, now help me to live in gratitude and anticipation of that day!

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

Posted by Dennis Kreiss at 10:27 AM | MAKE A COMMENT

Wednesday, Nov 11, 2009

11-11 What I Deserve

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Posted by Dennis Kreiss at 12:17 PM | MAKE A COMMENT

Tuesday, Nov 10, 2009

11-10 Worth Keeping?

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Daniel K. Smith. It’d been a long time since I heard that name. But there he was on Facebook. Dan wrote, “It is so weird...Sherry (his wife) connected up with other WBC classmates and I had the thought, I wonder what Dennis Kreiss is up to? Lo and behold you show up! I must be psychic!” Psychic may be it... Yesterday was a day off and I was a little bored... rain and all. I happened to see a few Western Baptist College year books and began to look through them. It has been a long time. I have only kept minimal contact with a few folks over the years. I began to wonder, as I looked through the pages about others. And there was Dan’s pic... I wondered "What are Dan and Sherry up to?" So I did a little search on Facebook, and lo and behold there they were! Now is that cool or what?

Today's Scripture reading is 2 Chronicles 7; Isaiah 59; Acts 22
To Listen to Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com
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Today’s thought comes from 1 Peter 1:5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

Stuff worth keeping. Let’s do a mental garage sale. You might as well start where you are seated right now. Look around. How much of the stuff in the room is worth keeping, and what are you willing to part with? There’s seven old time glass canning jars with the flip up lid holders sitting on the book case. Keepsakes or garage sale? I’m not much of a collector, so they are gone! OOPS! I forgot to consider Susan’s feelings. Put them back NOW! There are half a dozen VHS movies there too. “Stuart Little,” gone, “Shark Hunter,” outa here. Dump them all! And how about those books? How many of them will I ever read again? The college pic of Susan and I can stay though. It has some serious sentimental value. We were such a cute couple! What else? How about the fake plastic lemon tree? Please! Take it from me! We have rooms full of essential junk! Our lives are cluttered with memorabilia! Susan just can’t help herself! She keeps bringing home more! I’m suffocating in useless trinkets! What was important yesterday, so important we HAD to buy it, isn’t worth keeping today! I could easily dump half of what I own and not miss any of it for years! So what if God had a garage sale? How many of us are worth keeping? Let’s start with Dennis? He certainly isn’t looking much like Christ! And what about Bob? (Pun intended). He’s been sitting on the Christian bookshelf collecting dust for years. He has to go. And how about you? Are any of us worth keeping? When you consider my failures, flaws, slip ups, personal problems, issues, attitude adjustments needed, sins and downright uselessness to the cause of Christ (really? Come on don’t you feel that way sometimes?), I don’t know why God doesn’t have a “FIRE sale” right now! If it were up to me, and I had to write a ledger of why God should keep me around, I have to be honest with you… there aren’t enough good things on the positive side to outweigh even one of the negatives on the dark side. Really! I mean it! Think of it this way. Let’s say you are a good person, nice in every way. You work hard, pay your taxes, love your spouse and children and are a good family guy. You help old ladies across the street and do all manner of nice things… except one day you have been drinking and driving and you run over and kill a ten year old girl. It was a mistake! A slip up! It was the only time in your life you ever made that mistake! You are a model citizen in every respect except one! Can 40 or 50 or even 80 years of goodness balance the scales in the trial? Will the jury let you off because you are a “nice guy?” Not going to happen. God doesn’t keep us around based on our ledger. We are kept by the power of God! And believe me if it weren’t for Jesus, there would be no possible way for me to ever make it through life. I need him to “Save me” and I need him to “keep me!” I can do neither, he can do both. Thank God he’s going to keep me!

Dear Father, thanks for saving me from my sins. Thanks for keeping me despite my sin! I am trusting you. I realize that it is only by the grace of God that I am in your kingdom. I have no reason to brag, and every reason to be grateful! Thanks, Lord Jesus!

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled

Posted by Dennis Kreiss at 9:58 AM | MAKE A COMMENT

Thursday, Nov 05, 2009

11-5 Need Security?

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Bribery is dangerous! I held my breath as I pulled up to the house where I pick up Johnny, Ashley and Amberley for Awana. The last few weeks Johnny has not wanted to come because he’s not a running kind of kid and doesn’t want to participate in the games. His niece, Amberley really idolizes him and doesn’t want to do anything Johnny doesn’t. Last week I told them “they needed to participate or no candy on the way home.” That backfired! Amberley left my car crying… YOU HEEL! All week long I prayed about it with concern. To my surprise Amberley not only came, but she came with a good attitude for the first time in weeks and had fun! Whew, thank you Lord, dodged a bullet there!

Today’s thought comes from 1 Peter 1:3-4 “3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.”

How much is enough? A multimillionaire was once asked that question… his answer? “A little more!” Really? You would think that after the jackpot got to a million or so, a person would be satisfied and say… “I think I have enough now, I don’t really need more.” But that’s not the way it works! We want more! Why? Greed is one answer. And don’t forget about Covetousness. There are always bigger boats to buy and more expensive toys to acquire. Another BIG reason is security. How much material stuff like gold, silver, property, stocks and bonds does it take to make us feel secure? The more we accumulate, the more security we need in order to pay the bill collectors and replace the stuff we’ve got. We have a bigger income and BIGGER BILLS! They say that there are three things that drive the stock market: Greed, Hope and Fear. Never underestimate fear. Every investor knows that what goes up can come down 100 times faster than it went up! Eternal nervous vigilance is necessary to protect what you have. If we were honest, we would probably rate insecurity and fear among the top reasons for piling on materialism. When is your bank account big enough? Uh… never? Why do you hold on so tight to every greenback? Fear & Insecurity. Let’s face it, wealth is so tentative, especially in these tough economic times that we may driven to work 90 hours a week, hoard all we can get, and protect our little Fort Knox with an arsenal of highly trained ninja warriors. You won’t see a penny from me until you pull my cold, dead fingers off my safety deposit box! Jesus had a different view. Don’t hoard your treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, instead lay up your treasures in heaven where, as Peter said, we have an “incorruptible inheritance” that is “undefiled and does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.” The real answer to security is where you bank! If you depend on your deposits at the Bank of the World, you have reason to be uneasy. There the value of everything depreciates, the shine on our trinkets corrodes, and Identity Theft threatens to transfer all funds to a foreign account. The antidote to insecurity is to open an account in the Bank of Heaven. There your inheritance is safe and secure. There your riches do not depreciate or disappear. There you have “exceeding riches” as your reward. There you can depend on the living God who gives us richly all things to enjoy. There you have the riches of His glory which supply all your needs. Those riches strengthen the inner man and his inventory is so high the riches are unsearchable. I pray that the eyes of your understanding would be opened that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power. Need security? Bank in Heaven.

Today's Reading
2 Chronicles 6; Isaiah 57; Acts 21

Dear Father. I want to find my security in You. I know you are a solid rock that I can depend on. I know that on this earth riches may come and go, but you will never leave me or forsake me. I am depending on a retirement that is out of this world. Help me to place my trust there, not on things that can never bring stability and security.

My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Posted by Dennis Kreiss at 11:01 AM | MAKE A COMMENT

Wednesday, Nov 04, 2009

11-04 Hope – A Virtue or Vice?

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I love Tuesday nights! Every other Tuesday I meet with our two LTDers (Some call it our Long Term Disabilities class, but it is really our Leadership Training & Discipleship class). I spend three hours in class with Mike & Larry. Long class? It doesn’t seem like it. We cover lots of great material and time just seems to fly! There are some great books to read, verses to memorize and some great interaction. I just love the fact that the lights are coming on and the vision is being caught! And that’s what it’s all about. Passing on the faith to some guys serious about serving the Lord!

Today's Scripture reading is 2 Chronicles 5; Isaiah 56; Acts 20
To Listen to Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com
to subscribe go to http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com/rss.xml

Today’s thought comes from 1 Peter 1:3-4 “3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,

Hope. A man can live 40 days without food, 4 days without water, 4 minutes without air, but can’t last even 4 seconds without hope! I always thought hope was a virtue! Hope is good, right? Did you know that the Greeks considered hope to be as dangerous as all the world's evils put together! In fact Hope was one of the evils that Pandora let out of the box! Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche argued that hope, in truth, “is the most evil of evils because it prolongs man's torment." It makes men hang on when there is no rational reason to hang on. If they had only given up sooner their torment would not have lasted so long. Is that twisted or what? I hope that I don’t hope, because if I do hope I’ll end up more hopeless in the end! Seriously… it does make some sense, but only if you are basing your hope on a phantom or on something that won’t come through. So, what are you basing your hope on? The dictionary defines hope as “a belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life. Hope is the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best.” I hope so! That definition doesn’t do anything to reinforce the idea that hope is good! How many times do things turn out “good” for you? Marriage turns sour. Economy goes bust. People die. Cars break down. You are getting older and more infirm. I’ve got to admit it; hope that the things this life will come through isn’t too promising. I might as well hold out the hope that I’ll win the lottery! Good luck. You could win the jackpot only to be run over by a Semi five minutes later! That’s why the Bible calls the Christian’s hope “a living hope… that does not fade away.” Our hope is not like their hope. Our hope is based on solid footing. We believe that since Jesus was resurrected from the dead that we have a place reserved in heaven! Everything hinges on the resurrection! If Jesus was not raised from the dead we are the most pitiable of all people. If Christ is not risen our faith is worthless, useless, and misplaced and we are still in our sins. We are not forgiven and we are pushing a lie, the biggest lie ever concocted! But if Christ is risen we have more reason to hope than anyone else on the face of the planet. Did he or didn’t he? Only the disciples (and God) know… and they were willing to die for it! Who would die for what they know to be a lie? Listen, if, or should I say SINCE, Christ is risen from the dead, he has given us a LIVING HOPE. This has nothing to do with “I hope so…” nothing to do with an insubstantial phantom of a promise that evaporates like an illusion in the desert. This is hope based on the rock solid fact of the resurrection. Bank on it. No matter what happens in this life, “all things work together for the good of those who love God and… nothing can separate me from the love of God!”

Dear Lord Jesus, I hope in you, and that hope will not be disappointed because you have always come through in the past and always will in the future. I don’t hope in the circumstances of this life, I do hope in the promised future of eternity. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.

I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness have I drawn you

Posted by Dennis Kreiss at 9:58 AM | MAKE A COMMENT

Tuesday, Nov 03, 2009

11-03 Only the Unworthy are Worthy

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All quiet on the Kreiss’ front. Yesterday was one of those uneventful days in the life of Dennis & Susan Kreiss. Great isn’t it! I have to have a few of those. I did some work on finances… that’s a snoozer. Then I called up Bank of America and talked to a few loan officers about refinancing our home at a lower rate. And then I called up Sprint to talk about my phone which is having intermittent problems with the display. Sometimes it goes pitch dark. They are sending out a new one! I did a few things around the yard, and thought about doing a few more, but didn’t. Worked out. Spent time with Susan. Not much happening here!

Today's Scripture reading is 2 Chronicles 4; Isaiah 55; Acts 19
To Listen to Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com
to subscribe go to http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com/rss.xml

Today’s thought comes from 1 Peter 1:3-4 “3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,

Should I be merciful? How do we decide if a person deserves mercy or if they should get what’s coming to them? My nephew once asked a question on Facebook, “Does Vick deserve another chance in the NFL?” Everyone was dancing around the discussion of his ability and the seriousness or triviality of the crime he committed when I asked, “What do you mean by the word deserve?” Suddenly the whole conversation changed! Does anyone “deserve” mercy? Mercy, by definition is given to those who don’t deserve it. They committed a crime, offense or sin and deserve to face the consequences of their actions. To deserve something means we are worthy of it! No one DESERVES mercy, only the unworthy are worthy of mercy. Those two words, “deserve” and “mercy” used in the same sentence, are incompatible with one another. So how do you determine who gets mercy? It might be complicated. We might ask, “was it an accident? Why did they do it? Is it worth it for me to push the issue or should I let it go?” And then perhaps the most important question, “what about their attitude? Is it contrite or arrogant?” My guess is that we grant leniency to the humble more than we do to the pig headed. If there were ever a case for “deserving” mercy, this would be it! Now let’s see how God does it. He offers us “abundant mercy!” While we were still SINNERS Christ died for us… while we were ENEMIES he reconciled us… when we were REBELLIOUS he offered mercy to us. (Read Romans 5:6-8) His mercy is so great that not only does he offer to let us off the hook for our sins and indiscretions, but in the interest of justice, he also stepped in to pay the price we were destined to pay for them! And the amazing thing is that mercy is OFFERED both to the contrite and to the pig headed! My offers of mercy are conditional! If you want to go toe to toe with me, I’ll take it to the next level. I’m NOT even going to even offer mercy to a pig headed, rebellious, loud mouthed, ungrateful, arrogant brat! But God offers abundant mercy to all! The offer is extended. God will let you off the hook, scot free – you deserve hell, he’ll give you heaven… but, and here’s where the but comes in… in order to receive this free gift of mercy, you will have to deserve it by realizing how undeserving you are, you must become worthy by grasping how unworthy you are. You must be humble and contrite before God (who in their right mind wouldn’t be!) and gratefully accept his offer of abundant mercy. His mercy is offered to ALL, but received only by those who appreciate their need and request it. Won’t you accept it today?

Dear Father: I am unworthy of your abundant mercy. I realize the seriousness of my condition. Only mercy can get me off the hook and into heaven. I drop all pretence of worthiness before you, and instead willingly and gratefully accept your gracious gift of eternal life. Thanks!

Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.

Posted by Dennis Kreiss at 10:14 AM | MAKE A COMMENT

Monday, Nov 02, 2009

11-02 A Significant Secret to Happiness

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The empty chair. Sunday night Bill put an empty chair in our “Bible Study Circle,” and I asked them “what is the significance of the empty chair?” These people are so perceptive. It wasn’t really difficult to figure out. The empty chair is for someone who’s not here. I introduced them to the “Prayer of the empty chair.” We are going to pray that God will fill that empty chair! The empty chair will remind us that one of our great responsibilities is to reach out to people and see them come to Christ, come to “sit at His feet” and learn… on the empty chair. So we suggested names of folks we’d like to see fill the empty chair. While we were still talking Al & Carolyn arrived, and Al sat on the empty chair! Now it was no longer the empty chair. We’ll have to get another one.

Today's Scripture reading is 2 Chronicles 3; Isaiah 54; Acts 18
To Listen to Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com
to subscribe go to http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com/rss.xml

Today’s thought comes from 1 Peter 1:3-4 “3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,

God is good… All the time! How good is God? He is ALL good. There isn’t a bad bone in his body… that is, if he had a body, there wouldn’t be a bad bone in it. John puts it this way, “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5). James adds, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” (James 1:17). There is no darkness in God, in fact there is not a hint, not even a faint shadow or variation of his goodness. God is all good, all the time. Depend on it. One thing you can depend on is the consistency and dependability of God. He always acts according to His character – 100% of the time! GOD IS GOOD! Life is tough. Because of Adam, our great, great grandfather, we have problems. The original sin messed with the universe. It paved the way for every bad thing you have ever experienced. Aging, crime, bills, sickness, hurricanes, arguments, ingrown toenails… you name it, it precipitated it all. Good from God, Bad from Sin. God is not responsible for the evils that have found their way into our lives. God is responsible for every good thing that has ever happened to you! When bad things happen, Sin deserves the blame, when good things happen God deserves the praise! But far too often we do exactly the reverse of what we should: We blame God for bad things and praise us for good things! We say things like “If God were a God of love, he wouldn’t allow all the rape (people did that) murder (people) crime (that’s us doing it again) etc in the world! Backwards. And then when good things happen we say, “I’m a lucky guy!” (us). “I made a good investment decision” (us again). “It just took a lot of hard work” (you got it – we take the credit!). 1 Peter tells us we ought to bless God because of his abundant mercy, extravagant hope and unbelievable gifts that he heaps upon us! We have been blessed! We ought to bless back! A grateful heart is one of essential keys to a happy successful life. An ungrateful person is happy only when things are really going his way, and then only for a while. A grateful person realizes that even when bad things happen, there is still an amazing amount of things to give thanks for! Health, family, job, house, car, Jesus, the fresh air we breathe, the beauty of nature, Jesus, eyesight, two hands, ability to walk, Jesus… Want happiness beyond imagination? Pause several times a day, close your eyes for just a moment or two and sink into a state of thanksgiving. Smile and say, “God you are good! I thank you for your blessings!” And then list a few. “You have been so good to me! Thanks that every day I come home to a warm house and the smell of dinner cooking… Thanks… and then you fill in the blanks!” Bless God and the joy will flow.

Dear Father: Thanks for the death of your Son Jesus. That you love me so much that you want me as your child! Thanks for the hope of heaven, that you want me to be in your presence for eternity! Thanks for transformation, that you have come to live inside me and make me like yourself. I bless you.

"The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace."