Time well spent

Three days a week I go and work out.  The other day our instructor had us do exercises for our abdominals, 5 minutes worth.  Needless to say it was a "killer" workout and the next day I'm sure I looked like a caveman walking around with my knuckles dragging not quite able to stand erect.  The lesson learned,  other then physical was this we did alot of work in only 5 minutes.

Think about for just a moment;  5 minutes is the time of most commercials on TV, 5 minutes is the time you wait for the microwave to cook your dinner, 5 minutes is the minimum most of us spend on one phone call.  What I'm trying to say is that most of us have 5 "free minutes," or 5 "spare minutes" just lying around during the day.

Now you don't have to "get down" and give me twenty but how about opening your Bible and reading a chapter or two; or maybe you could read from your daily meditation book on a more regular basis; or maybe you could sit quietly and pray.  Don't let the excuse "I just don't have time" keep you from being in the presence of God.  5 minutes; God's worth it!

Relationships - pt. 2

In my latest blog I asked you to identify 5 relationships in which you're currently involved. If God was not #1 on that list ask yourself why not?  As a pastor when I've asked that question the two answers most frequently given are:

1. Why would God want to have a relationship with me after all the things I've done in my life?
2. I'd like to have a relationship with God I just don't know how.

All of us have been made in the image of God.  1 John 3:1 tells us "See how very much our Heavenly Father loves us, for He allows us to be called His children and we really are!  Know that He brings us to Himself through His Son Jesus Christ. Through Christ all our sins, past, present and future are forgiven.

Because of God's love He wants to have a relationship with you.  How can we make that happen; you can't by yourself, but together with the power of the Holy Spirit we can attend worship, study the word and pray often.  Thru God's grace and our faith He will reveal Himself to you.

Relationships

Recently I went to Webster's Dictionary to try and find a definition for the word "relationship." Try as I may I really couldn't make heads or tails of what they were trying to describe so I turned to Wikipedia which gave me the following:

1. A relationship is normally viewed as a connection between two people that may range from brief to enduring.
2. People in a relationship tend to influence each other, share their thoughts and feelings and engage in activities together.

Now I would like you to gather something to write with and something to write on and based upon the criteria listed above identify 5 relationships you're presently in.  When you've finished look at your list; Is your relationship with God #1? #2...

God wants to have a relationship with you. Scripture tells us to "Draw close to God and God will draw close to you (James 4:8), do you want to have a relationship with God?

To be continued...

Answer to Sept 7th

On September 7th I posted a blog which quoted Romans 14: 10-12: "For we will all stand before God's judgement seat...each of us will give an account of himself/herself to God."
I left you with this thought, "what will you say?"  Well, have you given any thought to this question?

Maybe as the song "I can only imagine" suggests you will find yourself unable to speak; or think about this for a moment, what can you possible say about yourself that God doesn't already know?

God through His grace gives us by faith the righteousness of Christ. As unjust sinners condemned to Hell we are made right in the sight of God not because of anything we've done but because of the sacrifice Jesus made for us through His death and resurrection.

Romans 6:23 reminds us "that the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Therefore, when that day comes and you stand before God know that your accounts will be marked "PAID IN FULL" and your sins forgiven; the only thing left for you to do is enjoy the eternal life that awaits you in the Heavenly Kingdom.

V-a-c-a-tion.

Karen and I are on a vacation together, the first we've had in a very long time.  As we travel this land I've come up with some things I'd like to share with you, but first an assignment:  Look up the following locations: Philedelphia, MS, Montgomery, AL, Selma, AL, Tuskegee, AL.  Do a little research into the history of each and then ask yourself this; did we as Christians do all that Jesus commanded us to do? 

V-a-c-a-tion

For the next two weeks Karen and I will be on vacation.  As we travel across the country I'll be sharing some of my thoughts with you.  I would like to begin

When its time

As a pastor I'm often called upon to sit with those who are dying and I have to answer a question that frequently arises, "am I going to heaven?" John 3:16 tells us "that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

I then ask myself why should anyone be afraid of dying, unless of course, they've read Romans 14:10-12; "For we will stand before God's judgement seat...then each of us will give an account of himself to God."

What will you say?

To be continued...