Ever feel like you are all by yourself? Everyone in the world has turned against you. Or maybe no one is willing to step up and help you. When everything is going good everybody wants to be on your team. But let things turn and no one wants to be with you. Maybe everyone has turned on you. You have been doing exactly what God has called you to do and now even those who said they would always be there have turned aside. You begin to feel like what is the use? Why continue to be the odd man out? So how do you deal with that? Do you really just give up and do things the way the world wants? What about as we witness and receive negative feedback? We don’t feel like we can do it, do we? You see we all worry about this person or that person being against us. God has said that He is in our corner. That doesn’t mean that bad things don’t still happen. Remember the disciples? All of them lost their lives at some point. Does that mean that God wasn’t for them? You see God’s ways are above our ways. He doesn’t just see what is in front of us. God sees the big picture. He knows what is best for us and how to protect us. The Bible says If God is for us, who can be against us. Don’t worry about man, but trust in the One who created you. It may seem like you against the world, but remember God is on your side. So it is two against the world and your on the winning side.
Author: pastortoney
I am a follower of Christ. I have the privilege to pastor a group of followers at That Church. We believe Restoration is for Everybody.
Who is your dad?
Did you have a great Father’s Day? I enjoyed the day with my wife and six children. Here is a thought for the day after. Did you tell God Happy Father’s Day? I know we think of this day, as one for our earthly dads. There are many men out there who are dads to more than just the children they help to produce. I have had many dads in my lifetime. There have been guys who have come along side of me to help steer me in the right direction. Some to offer advice in matters of life, others to help out in physical needs. There have been those who love me for just who I am. Then there have been those who love my children like they were their own. Isn’t that everything a dad is supposed to do? Well I would submit that God fits all of those qualifications, doesn’t He? You see, God had to pay a price to become our Father. Many people fail to realize that being a Father will cost you something. There will be the times when your children don’t listen and break your heart. I should know, I did this a lot. Then there might be time that it will cost you financially. You see God was willing to bounce back from all of those times for us. He was even willing to give up His biological son, so that we might have the ability to be adopted by Him. I have had the chance to be adopted by the very creator of the universe. Why? Because He paid a price so that He could become my Father. So I would challenge all of you to stop and tell your Heavenly Father you love Him. After all He didn’t have to be your dad but He chose to anyways.
Why Me???????
Ever ask your self the question Why Me? Your life takes some unexpected turns and you don’t understand what is happening or even why. Don’t we all get that self-pity mentality? We never really understand any of it until after it is all said and done. You know as we read the Bible we will finds lots of stories about people who no doubt asked the same questions that we asked. The first one that comes to mind is a young man named Joseph. His dad and mom raised him with a host of other brothers. Joseph’s parents favored him over the other children, there by creating some tension. Well we all know the story of what happened. His brothers sold him into slavery; he was cast into jail because of lies. Then God uses him to save all of his family down the road from starving to death. We can fast forward in time and look at everything that David went through, as he had to duck and dodge for his life from Saul. God worked that situation out also. Well we can move further into the Bible and see everything that happens to the disciples. These guys and gals were serving Jesus with everything they had and yet still had to experience some bad stuff and even death for most. So we ask the question Why Me? Why not? We think in the modern day state of the church that we are better than these men and women of the Bible. If God allowed things to happen in their lives, why won’t He allow it in yours? Yes God does love us. He loves us so much that He allows things to come in and out of lives. So Why? Well Paul writes in Romans that everything that happens is for the good of those who Love God and called according to His purpose. So you see when stuff happens in our lives, we get beat down because we can’t see how it will impact us in the long run. So the next time something shows up and you don’t understand it, instead of saying Why Me? Ask God what are you teaching me through this? It won’t make things better right away, but it will remind us that God loves us and has everything under control. Remember, God doesn’t get caught by surprise, He doesn’t have to switch to plan b, because plan a always works.
I have a cure for cancer, you want to know????
Have you ever gone to a movie that was just awesome? Didn’t you want to tell someone? What about a restaurant that had really good food and service? Didn’t you share that information with someone? Have you gotten a nice haircut? When someone asks about it don’t you tell him or her? What if you were diagnosed with a terminal cancer and you went to the one doctor who had a cure? But what if the cure cost a million dollars and he told you not to worry about it that he would pay for it. What if he told you everyone that you send to him, he will do the same thing for him or her. I bet that you would want to tell everyone that you could. Well let me take the next view moments of your time and tell you that I have met a man who can cure cancer. Want to know who it is? His name is Jesus Christ and He has the cure for the cancer called sin. This cancer is so bad that it has infected every person who has ever been born into this world. There is no one that is immune to the disease or the impact it has upon your life. Sin will kill you sure enough. But I know a Great Physician that has a cure for it and has paid the price for you to have the cure. The Bible says that if you will call upon the name of the Lord that you will be saved. What that means is that if you will call out to Jesus, that He will heal you of your sin cancer. It is only Jesus that holds the cure. Have you made the call? I would challenge all to make this call. There is not one person that will be able to beat this cancer without Jesus.
I Don’t Have To Follow Your Rules!!!!!!
Why are there so many rules to this Christian walk? Why are we so concerned about making sure everyone follows the rules before the join the crowd? Where does Grace fall in to play? How about Mercy? Well let me start off by saying that man has placed the rules upon the Christian walk and that is why we struggle with them. You see God knows that we have to have a relationship with Him before we will even want to try and follow the rules. I heard a great preacher say Rules before Relationship always produces Rebellion. Don’t believe that. Look into your own life and see how that has played out for you and yours. We as the church have moved so far away from what Jesus did. We want people to look like us, act like us and talk like us before they can join us. Like what we have is controlled by us. Hey remember Jesus would simply ask people to follow Him. He just wanted to develop a relationship with them and then they would change. The congregations that are doing the work Jesus have instructed us to do have figured this out. They are having relationships with people of all walks of life so that they will have the chance to share Jesus with them. You see that is where grace and mercy step in. God gave you grace and mercy when you weren’t playing by the rules. When you were lost and wanted nothing to do with Him, it was extended to you. Even since you have begun your relationship, when you get off track, here comes grace and mercy again. We should sue our brains for non-support if we think we deserved that and other people don’t. So let me ask you, are you expecting people to be perfect right out of the gates? I mean you want them to speak christianese and dress christianese and act christianese. Build a relationship and leave the rest up to God.
Put up or Shut up
Our churches today have moved so far from the original church. We get so caught up with our buildings and programs for the people inside the body. The New Testament Church was focused on sharing Christ and building disciples. So what am I saying? No I am not saying sell all the buildings and cancel all the programs that we have for members. Our congregations have become so inwardly focused that we have forgotten what we are commissioned to do. There are so many churches dying on a yearly basis because we have taken our separatist attitude to far. We are so worried that we might catch something from the people who are still living in the world. I am not talking about being seeker sensitive so to speak. What I am saying is why don’t we put our money where our mouth is. We say all the time that we want to do what Jesus commanded us to do. But when we look at our budgets we find that we are just the opposite. Our Churches for the most part have no presence in our communities. There are a lot of places out there that have even stopped having VBS, which for some is the single event that is used to reach parts of the community in which they live. If we are truly concerned about people dying and going to hell, then I submit we need to put our money where our mouth is or shut up. As a SBC we have the privilege to support missionaries and missions through the cooperative program. We do special offerings for other causes and all of that is great. Sadly though for a lot of congregations that is where it stops. Hey that is great, but we need to do more. The Bible says that where we put our treasure that is where our heart will be. That doesn’t just refer to the money we give. We need to use our time and talents to Impact the World for Christ. So what about you? Put your time and talents where your money and mouth are. Pay up or shut up.
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Talk is Talk Until You Walk
I like to sit around sometimes and just listen to people talk. I don’t know why it just fascinates me. You know what else I like to do? I like to just sometimes sit and watch people. It is very interesting to me to watch people live out their lives out. You know we often times say a lot of stuff but when it comes to doing what we said we fall short. It used to be before I was born a man’s word was his bond. If someone said it you could take it to the bank they were going to do exactly what they said. I hear lots of people talk about what they are going to do for God. They have the best of intentions, but you know the old saying right. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Or maybe you can be well intentioned and drive off a cliff. Now before you get bent out of shape, I am not saying that I am perfect and do everything I ever say. I try. Another thing that drives me crazy is to listen to people tell me how much they love God, to turn right around and blast one of His creations (people). Shouldn’t our words match our actions? I think there is something in the Bible that talks about this. You will have to search it out for yourselves I am not going to give you the answer. It is there, just look. One final thought, our words should dictate our actions. If you don’t want to do it, don’t say it. People will read your actions a lot more than they will ever listen to you. Ask someone in your community about you, and I promise they will have something to say. You see there are a lot of people like myself who like to listen to people talk and then like to watch people to see if those two things match. Are you walking your talk? Or talking your walk?
I am not a Missionary or Am I
We all wonder how someone could leave everything they know or have and travel to a foreign land to share Christ. After all hasn’t there been people lose their lives or worse yet put their families at risk. God didn’t call everyone to be the person to leave everything for people in other countries right? Well is that true or false? I would have to submit that the previous statement is false. God has called us all to leave everything for His purposes in our lives. Does that mean that we have to go to another country to make that happen? Do we have to sell everything we own and leave everyone we know? NO. The Great Commission tells us to share Christ in our Jerusalem, Samaria, and then the rest of the world. So we are all called to be missionaries. We don’t have to go to a foreign land to share Christ; we can do it right where God has placed you. You see you are right where you are meant to be according to God. So what are you going to do about that? Walk across the street or across the lunchroom and share Christ with someone. You don’t even have to learn a different language most of the time. Now I am not saying that we don’t need people to go to foreign countries and share Jesus. What I am saying is we can’t just throw money at missions and not do them. If you won’t share Christ with people you are around today, then who will? What I am learning through this journey of life God has placed me on is there are people who come in and out of my life that may never listen to someone else, but will listen to me. So wouldn’t I be a fool not to accept my call as a missionary right where God has placed me. So allow me to ask, Are you a missionary? Or Not
It is my Life who cares?
Ever made statements like these? It is my life I can do what I want. Or maybe who cares what they think. In today’s world we are often programmed to worry about us and nobody else. It is after all our lives and shouldn’t we live the way that makes us happy? I think of a lot of Bible here to combat what the world has to say. Let’s start with the fact that if you’re a follower of Christ you have been bought with a price and you no longer have the right to do what you want. Or maybe the one where we are not to be a stumbling block to anyone with our own actions. This includes things that we might want to do but would cause other people to have a bad picture of Christ. Then there is the one that we are to live as Christ did, allowing Him to live through us. Man that really hits me square in the face. That means that even when someone does you wrong that you don’t take revenge. Or if you really want to do something and for you it would be ok, but for others it might cause them to stumble. When Jesus died upon the cross for my sins I gave up the right to do, as I wanted to. I no longer have an opinion about things it is what the Bible says. Everything that I do in life have to be looked at through the glasses of what will it do to others? So the next time you make the statement it is my life I can do what I want, remember that if you are a follower of Jesus it isn’t yours anymore. We should always care what others might think about us because as many people have said before we might be the only Bible they may ever see. What kind of of Bible do people read when they see you?
Judge Me Not or Help Me Yes
Here is a phrase that I am sure everyone has heard and probably even said once or twice. Judge not unless you want to be judged. Sound familiar? It is something that we say when we are doing something we shouldn’t be doing or you confront someone else. You might also hear people in glass houses shouldn’t throw rocks. Sometimes we get so caught up in these phrases that we are afraid to even say anything to someone who is headed down the wrong road. After all don’t we all have problems of our own? Why should we worry ourselves with someone else’s problems? Besides they are just going to pop off with one of the above comments. Well let’s take a moment and explain the first phrase. Judge not is talking about casting an eternal judgment on someone. We don’t have the ability to understand our own hearts much less someone else’s heart. We are called by Jesus to be fruit inspectors. If you were a corn farmer and you began to have cotton grow in your fields wouldn’t you want to know why? We should never try to tell someone what is in their heart when they do something. Our job is to look at the fruit and help them produce the right fruit for the right fields. I know that people will take offense sometimes when you call them out on something. Don’t you? It is all in how you say things. If you don’t have a relationship with the person it will never be received well. I heard someone once say Rules before a Relationship always breeds Rebellion. That is true in every sense of the word. So what about you? Are you just trying to Judge Me or do you want to Help Me?
Thoughts from Pastor Toney 