Music for the Messiah

Are you ready?

2009-10-18T13:04:00.002-05:00

John 14:2 says "In my fathers house are many rooms; if it were not so I would have told you. I am goign there to prepart a place for you." In verse 3 Jesus says "And if I prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you may also be where I am." The question is, are you ready and in condition to go with him? Or will you be left behind?

Joshua 1:9

2009-10-11T20:26:00.001-05:00

Have I not commanded you? Be stron and courageous; Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

What does this verse mean to you?

Bride of Christ

2009-10-06T08:27:00.001-05:00

How do you see your relationship with Christ?

NEEDTOBREATHE Widget

2009-09-26T12:16:00.001-05:00

Thank you Tyler and God Bless the Juden Family

2009-09-22T10:48:00.002-05:00

As I stood outside in line with the rest of our community and the procession for Tyler passed by, I was moved to tears. A family's sacrifice. A Soldiers ultimate sacrifice. Today we carry a beloved son, friend and soldier to his final rest. I didn't know Tyler, but as a retired sailor I do call him shipmate. And I also call him brother in christ. Please pray for the Juden family, for the friends of Tyler, for his loved ones. They may not understand why Tyler was called home to glory now, but it will be for Gods Glory in the end.

Timelessness

2009-08-16T16:11:00.001-05:00

In my entire life, I have never seen God move as I have seen him move in the past year. Is that perhaps because I wasn’t paying attention or that God was waiting on me to get somewhere first. Either way, I am blessed that he loves me enough to show me some wonderful things. As many of you may or may not know, prayer is a vital part of our faith. We are told by Paul in Ephesians 6:18, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep praying for all the saints.” Paul admonishes us to pray “in” the spirit and with all kinds of prayers and requests. Again, in Phillipians 4:6 Paul says “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanks giving, present your requests to God.”
For anyone out there that has prayed, you know sometimes, it’s hard to do. You get uncomfortable, random thoughts come through your mind. You lose your focus. Let me tell you that those are Satan’s attempts to interrupt your communications with and from God. Remember what Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against, the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against eh spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”. So pray, pray for what you need, and when you don’t know what to pray for remember what it says in James 5:16 “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”
I have talked about how to pray before, but what I want you to get today is just how powerful prayer can be. First you need to take it with the right attitude, remember its not about you or me or anyone, its about the will of the Father, and we can see that in prayer Jesus gave in Gethsemane in Luke 22:42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done”. It is our submission to the will of God that allows the true power of prayer to come to the front. Praying in the Spirit is next. What does that mean to “Pray in the Spirit”. Praying in the spirit is focused prayer. Some believe you must speak in tongues to be able to Pray in the Spirit. Other’s put it as a connection between you and God in which you can truly feel the presence of God during your prayer. For me, the best example I can give, occurred just recently.
As we waited for our Pastor to being service, he paused and then gathered us all together to begin praying over various members of the church. Now for me, this is hard, this is usually when Satan works on me the hardest, disrupting my thoughts. You can imagine why, this is the time when each of us is trying to directly connect with God. Something Satan desperately wants to prevent. So, here we are and we begin to pray. First for one person, then another, pretty soon we’ve gone through several dozen or more people and I’m left thinking that was fast, that wasn’t much, maybe Pastor will still deliver his message. That’s when my wife looks at me and goes “We better hurry if your going to get on the radio today. I looked at the clock and nearly 2 hours had passed I was flabbergasted. I was totally at a loss. Where had the time gone. Then I smiled and realized something very important. Time with God has no meaning.
I want some more of that. I want more time where I am lost in God. Where I am just there and He’s there. Where the Spirit pours itself out and spreads its all over us. Wouldn’t that be fantastic? Can you imagine a time when we won’t have to bow our heads when we can just think it and God knows it? Folks, that time is already here. If you don’t have it in your life, and you want it, if you can’t feel Him and you want to you have to reach out to Him.
Psalm 91:14 says “Because he loves me”, says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.” Acknowledge Him. Acknowledge God and what He has done for you. Acknowledge Christ and what He has done for you. Do as Paul tells us in Romans 10:9 and confess with your mouth, say it out loud, that Jesus is the Christ. That he died for you, that he rose again from the grave 3 days later and you will be saved. Nothing you can do, accept this, can save you from your sin. Eternity awaits, timeless, without end, I got a sample of how that would be during that prayer. Yet what type of eternity awaits now depends on you. You can confess as Paul directs or you can hold your voice and spend eternity in hell.
With all my heart, I encourage you, I plead with you. Give yourself over to Christ, do not delay, for the time is short and soon you will be face to face with Eternity and then you can’t change your mind.

Peace and Fear

2009-08-10T21:31:00.000-05:00

Here lately, the economy has been doing pretty bad. There are war’s and conflicts all over. Hunger and famine seem to be the norm in a growing part of our world. Bringing it home, we’ve had a couple of business close, nothing drastic, we’ve had our losses from the conflicts we are in around the world. In other words, things are not going as well as we would have wished for. Luckily, we don’t have to worry about wishes. You see, I have a secret. Well, a secret that’s not so secret. You get my meaning! When time’s get tough, I can lean on Christ to carry me through. See, God has made us a promise that he’ll take care of us, just as he takes care of the sparrow in the field.
But what does that mean to take care of me? Of us? Does it mean that he’s like some giant wishing machine and he grants unlimited wishes? No, of course not. Does it mean that only good things will happen to us in our lifetime. No, obviously not. What he is telling us is that if we give control of our lives over to him, he will in turn take care of our needs. Now, that’s a pretty powerful statement if it’s understood correctly. A lot of times we mistake wants with needs. But God, being all knowing, knows exactly what we need when we need it and is the only entity capable of giving it to us.
So God knows what we need. Just so you know, he also knows what you want. One of the things we all are seeking in these tumultuous times is peace. Just a moment to breath, in John 14:27 Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” I take huge comfort in that verse. More than that, I have peace. For those that don’t know at one time I was a walking fear factory. I was afraid of this that or the other thing. I didn’t know the future and it terrified me. You could literally say I lived in fear. And that fear was destroying my life. It made me angry, bitter and resentful.
Let me be clear, it made me angry, bitter and resentful…before. Before what? Before I became a follower of Christ. Before I laid my needs at his feet along with my heart mind and soul. That changed everything. In that fraction of a second, in that briefest of moments, everything changed. I knew, that I knew, that I knew that I knew I was saved. That my course was set and my future sealed. In John 10:28 Jesus says “I give them eternal life and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.” And again in Romans 8:38 and 39 Paul states “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation , will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord”.
Those are some pretty powerful promises and convictions. If we believe in the bible then we must believe them as well. If we have accepted Christ those promises are ours to claim. That my friends, is where my peace comes from. Let me be frank here, I still have fear, I still have my moments of weakness. I’m not perfect, nor will I ever be in this lifetime. But, no matter what happens in this life time, I know where I’m going after this.
So the economy is bad. So there are war’s and conflicts all over the world. So lifelong neighbors are
getting into feuds. I have peace. In the book of Job it tells the story of the man named Job and how he went
from plenty to poverty almost over night. He lost his prosperity, his family, his friends, he lost his heath, he
lost everything that was of any worth to him. But he resounds all through the book with this common theme
from Job 1:21 “And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave
and the Lord has taken away: May the name of the Lord be Praised”.” This man lost it all, and still he praised
the Lord. Imagine the faith this man must have had to be able to hold on even in times of deep personal
scrutiny.
Do I want to lose my house, my friends, my family, my business? No on all counts, but if that is where
the Lord wanted to do with me, I would follow along. Why, well first of all He is God and I will obey my God.
By being in obedience to God we can find peace. The first step in that obedience is to acknowledge that Christ
is the Savior of all man. Confessing with our mouths that we might share in his righteousness. If you are
ready to do that, go to him on your knees in prayer. Lift your thoughts to him above who’s name is chosen
above all names and nations. Tell God that you know you’re a sinner and let it go of all that’s inside of you and
give it to him, confessing that Jesus is the Savior of all Man.

Stewardship

2009-08-03T20:43:00.001-05:00

Okay sometimes God is pretty straight forward when he wants me to talk about something. He gets a message and keeps bringing it up over and over. This week I started my message like 8 times trying to get the ball rolling. Trying to listen to the spirit and get things ready for today. I’ve been sleepy, distracted, anything you can imagine on every topic I’ve picked. However all week long I’ve been reminded about stewardship. And no, I’m not talking about some guy on a airplane or cruise ship. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines stewardship as the conducting, supervising, or managing of something; especially: the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care. Okay, what’s this got to do with us. We have been called to be good stewards. I can hear some of you out there now going, ahh, now he’s gonna talk about tithing and giving money to the church. Wrong. That’s a very very miniscule part of being a good steward. Genesis 2:15 says “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” This is the first instance of stewardship in history. Eden was not Adams to begin with, it was God’s. God created it and then asked Adam to take care of it. This has very little to do with global warming. Yes, we are to be stewards and we are to take care of God’s belongings, but we are also called to do something else.
There is the Parable of the 10 Talents as shown in Matthew 25:14 – 30. The Master gave money to his servants, and went away on business. When he came back, two servants gave him more than what he started with while the third had lost all he had been given. From this we can see that the Lord expects us to increase the things which he has given us, and to bring more to him. Now this isn’t just about money. No, this is about everything.
A few weeks ago, my son and I were working in the yard. I was mowing it and he was weed eating it. I paused and looked at him and realized that I had an opportunity to show him one of the deeper meanings of stewardship. I called him over and asked him, why did you mow the lawn? Easy answer, you told me too. Okay, silly question on my part. What made you do a good job at mowing the lawn? Again, the simple answer didn’t’ help with my lesson. Because you’d make me fix it if I didn’t do it right the first time. Okay, typical son answers to a typical dad. Okay, lets try a different tactic here. Why do I want you to mow the lawn and make it look nice? Typical son answer, “I dunno”. Being surreptious wasn’t working. Okay, I want a nice job done on the lawn because its not my lawn. That got me the deer in the headlights look. Son, its not my lawn, its God’s lawn. At this point I saw a tiny spark, the hamster was getting back on the wheel in the cage. What do you mean it’s God’s lawn. I didn’t’ make the lawn son. I didn’t make dirt. I didn’t create the rain that falls from the sky. I didn’t create all the pretty flowers we planted. God did. Hampster’s on the wheel and its starting to turn. I want to make God happy, I want to show him that I appreciate what he’s given me in this lawn, so I want it to look nice for him and too him. I could see the light in his eyes, Houston, we have lift off.
Now my son is very bright. Smart kid for a 14 yr old. And I wanted him to learn that being a good steward is more than just giving money to the Church. Its even more than Global warming. Its about doing the things God has asked us to do with his stuff. After all, he created it.
First, we can not be good stewards until we have done one thing. That is to offer ourselves to God. Romans 12:1 says “Therefore, I ugre you , brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship”. We have to give ourselves, our body, mind and spirit to God first, as an act of worship, to being to steward the rest of the things God has given us.
So how do we give ourselves to God? Do we have to kill ourselves? No, no, no. We must come to him with a broken and contrite heart. Psalm 51:17 says, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken, and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” If you are weary, heavy burdened? If you are so tired you think you can’t carry on? If you are ready to just pack it in and give up over school, job work, life in general, then I want to tell you that you have a broken and contrite spirit. God can and will bring you peace. All you have to do is accept Jesus as the Christ. Confess it with your mouth.
So when someone talks to you about stewardship or asks you something about stewardship. Remember that starts inside you and your commitment to Christ.

Good Samaritan

2009-07-26T20:40:00.000-05:00

As you folks know, I’ve been gone for the past two Sunday’s. I’ve been on vacation with my family and we had gone to New Hampshire to visit relatives. Now you might be asking, Ralph, what’s this have to do with God? Well, it does and it doesn’t. Its what happened on the way there that really is the story.
You see, we all know when we get to the airport, we’re supposed to be an hour or so early so we can get checked in. We are supposed to be ready for the slow process of passing security and what not. What I was not expecting was a delay in getting checked in for the flight. The people weren’t kind, they tended to ignore the passengers and generally slowed down whenever they felt put upon.
There were a bunch of angry people there. While not angry, I was upset. Couldn’t these people realize that we had a flight to catch in hour…then ½ hour. As time dwindled down, and I was beginning to think we were not going to get checked in, this guy appears from through the baggage entry. He’s a baggage handler and he’s got this frizzy hair, looks bad, and made me want to protect my daughter. Fathers, you know the kind of guy I’m talking about. He looks me right in the eye and he says, “You need your baggage checked, I’m going to help you.” Folks, it is at this point in our trip that God takes me by the hand and starts teaching me some very valuable lessons.
As I watch this kid help dozen’s of passengers, I was reminded of Luke Chapter 10 verse 25 – 35 which says “On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" “What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live." But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'”
Now of the three people at the ticket counter, who was my neighbor, the frizzy headed kid from baggage. For me this is profound, because it shows me a bit about myself. You see I saw the kid as someone I would not want to be around. Someone I would have distance myself from. Yet here he was, going out of his way to do something for me that his job did not require. He was being my neighbor. I was grateful to that young man. I was thankful and I told him so. So what changed me? Was it his help? A year ago, his help would have only aggravated me further because the real people that needed to help me weren’t. So why did I react differently to this young man on this occasion?
So what changed me? Christ. Christ alone changed me. He changed me when I stopped following me and started following him. He changed me when I stopped living for myself and started living for Him. I can tell you the Roman’s Road to salvation, I can show you the scripture in the bible, but the bottom of it is that I became a new creation. I became something that wasn’t there before. Now I don’t know about you, but I only know of one force in existence that can create something was wasn’t there before and that’s God. So here I am at the airport, my flight is about to leave and all I can think about is this young man, standing their, helping people. There wasn’t anything beautiful about him. There wasn’t an aire of importance about him. He wasn’t making a show of what he was doing, he was getting people processed so they could catch their flight instead of being stranded. He was the good Samaritan.
As I think about it, and I think about Christ. He didn’t have to die on that cross for himself. He was already the son of God. He was already perfect. He often told people to go and tell no one of what he was doing. It wasn’t important to him to show off. He was just trying to help people get processed so they could go to heaven instead of going to hell. Jesus is the ultimate good Samaritan.
Folks, I want you to find Jesus. I want you to seek him out. If you want to know peace as you have never known it ask Jesus to come to you. He’ll meet you where you are. All you have to do is ask.

Healing Service

2009-07-20T17:57:00.002-05:00

There will be a healing service at 6:30pm on the 26th of July. It will be at the Rotunda in Wilson Park. It is being done by Blessing Heights Church. Has anyone ever been to one that they would share their experiance? I've never been and am going to go to see it.

Who is your neighbor?

2009-07-14T17:42:00.002-05:00

Luke 10:25-37

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"
He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."

Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

_______

So I ask each of you, who is your neighbor?

Jesus Freak by DC Talk

2009-07-08T16:54:00.003-05:00

I'm a Jesus freak.

What will people think
When they hear that I'm a Jesus Freak?
What will people do
When they find that's it's true?]
[oh oh]

Separated, I cut myself clean
From a past that comes back in my darkest of dreams
Been apprehended by a spiritual force
And a grace that replaced all the me I've divorced

I saw a man with tat on his big fat belly
It wriggled around like marmalade jelly
It took me a while to catch what it said
Cause I had to match the rhythm
Of his belly with my head
'Jesus Saves' is what it raved in a typical tattoo green
He stood on a box in the middle of the city
And he claimed he had a dream

(chorus)
What will people think
When they hear that I'm a Jesus freak
What will people do when they find that it's true
[oh oh]
I don't really care if they label me a Jesus freak
There ain't no disguising the truth
[oh oh oh]
[ain't no disguising the truth, no I ain't hiding the truth]

Kamikaze, my death is a gain
I've been marked by my Maker
A peculiar display
The high and lofty, they see me as weak
Cause I won't live and die for the power they seek

There was a man from the desert with naps in his head
The sand that he walked was also his bed
The words that he spoke made the people assume
There wasn't too much left in the upper room
With scabs on his back and hair on his face
They thought he was strange by the locusts he ate
YOU SEE The Pharisees tripped when they heard him speak
Until the king took the head of this Jesus freak

chorus

People say I'm strange, does that make me a stranger
My best friend was born in a manger
People say I'm strange, does that make me a stranger
My best friend was born in a manger

(repeat chorus 2x)

What will people think
[What will people think]
What will people do
[What will people do]
I don't really care
[What else can I say]
There ain't no disguising the truth
[Jesus is the way]

http://connect.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=86a587cca64bc4f01d4e

He Reigns - Newsboys

2009-07-08T16:29:00.000-05:00

2002 Evangelical Youth Conferance

2009-07-06T12:53:00.003-05:00

Topics for Sunday

2009-07-02T14:25:00.001-05:00

Does anyone have a subject or topic they would like to see covered on the Radio Show?

Does God love you?

2009-07-01T06:54:00.001-05:00

I know he loves me, he sent his only son into the world to die for me. What do you think?

Vacations and other things

2009-06-23T20:24:00.002-05:00

I'll be on vacation for the next two sunday's, which means we won't be on the air. If you have a topic you'd like us to cover on the air or in the blog please e-mail me at music4messiah@gmail.com I want this to be as much about filling your needs as getting the word out about Christ.
Someone asked me what my process was on writing the scripts for Sunday. Mostly its inspiration, someone will say something or God will show me something I hadn't thought about before and so I go over it. Right now I am studying about the invisible war discussed in Ephesians. Its very interesting to me, as a warrior type (retired military).

Life

2009-06-19T11:03:00.003-05:00

What defines human life? For me, my belief, the moment that the sperm and egg unite, that's life. Maybe we don't recognize it as such because it doesn't look like us. But be assured it is life.

Psalm 139:13 "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mothers womb."

Jerimiah 1:5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

Luke 1:41 "When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit." (This may be in the later stages of her pregnancy)

Christ in You

2009-06-14T16:35:00.001-05:00

I have struggled with today’s message for several weeks. This perhaps has been the hardest message I have ever had to bring to anyone. You see, before I was saved, I was a political person. I thought that politic’s were the arena that could save mankind. I hadn’t been saved or forgiven at that point. I didn’t know that there is only one true means to be saved and that is through Christ Jesus. As it says in Ephesians 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, he forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” So I have made every effort to refrain from politics since my salvation.
That being said, I am going to tackle a somewhat political subject and try to avoid politics. The events surrounding a particular murder this past month have widened some political gaps. Have made raw some bitter feelings, and have further driven a wedge between good people. This type of event is a good example of how Satan works. How he distracts us from the things we are supposed to be mindful of. Often I have said, “do not discount Satan, for he is out there.” 1st Peter 5:8 says “be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour”. If you get distracted and take your eye off Christ, you risk being devoured.
As I said, one killing is not avenged by another. Nor is a million killings avenged by a single one. The bottom line is, WE are not to judge. Let me repeat that, WE are not to judge. We are to love.
We are not to judge. We are not to get revenge. We are to love. Just where did those concepts come from and how do they apply? I mean, You’ve heard them all your life, but have you really applied them? Matthew 7:1 and 2 says “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Whoa, that’s pretty powerful there. Jesus is saying not only do should we not judged, but however we judge a person, that is how we will be judged. Romans 12:18 and 19 says “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written; “It is mine to avenge; I will repay”, says the Lord.” Powerful words, if possible as far as it depends on you. No matter what the other guys does, if its up to you, leave at peace with everyone. Mark 12:29 – 31 says, “the most important one answered Jesus is this, Hear, O Isreal, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this; Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these”. We are commanded to Love. Not just any love, but to love one another as we would love our own selves. I know for me this can often be a very very difficult thing. In some cases it’s an impossible thing. There are some people I am incapable of loving on my own.
Hey, I said something that sounded pretty bad. I said I there are some people I can’t love. There are some people that each of us can’t love. We are human. We are weak. We are fallen and lost. It is ONLY when we accept Christ that we find an ability to love. The love I have is only a reflection of the love God has given to me. As I think about that murdered man and all the killing he himself had done, I wanted to tell myself that it was justified. That what was done to him was what he deserved. That maybe this guy is in hell and he’s being punished forever for what he’s done. Then it struck me. I mean it struck me HARD. In God’s eyes, there isn’t any difference between him and I. Just as there is no difference in my eyes between my own children. I love them both the same. I treat them both the same. I am just as harsh or gentle on both of them. We are all, each one of us God’s children. Just as I would not let one of my children harm the other over some wrong they did to them, God does not want us harming each other over the wrongs we have received from each other. Our commandment is to Love one another as we love our selves. To not seek revenge. To Live in peace and to not judge. There is one more thing, and for some of you, this will be the hardest yet to do.
Luke 6:37 says Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Mark 11:25 “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive your sins”. Forgive and you will be forgiven.
As I said earlier, there are some people I can’t love. It’s not in me. I can’t love them as the human being that I am now. Yet, once I was saved, once I had cast all my cares on the Lord. Once I had given myself to him. It was at that point that I became a new creation in Christ. Once I accepted Christ, he filled me with his spirit. Then I was able to over come having faith in Christ and knowing 1st John 4:4 which says “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” By accepting Christ, by letting Christ live in me, I am also capable of letting Christ LOVE through me. Only then, only after accepting Christ was I able to find it in me to love the unlovable.
So if you want to love and be loved. If you want to turn away from the hate and anger that knot your insides up and gives you pain. If you want to walk in the light. Give yourself to Christ. Where ever you are all you need to do is kneel down, or sit or stand, but turn your focus on God and tell him you’re a sinner. Tell God that you believe that Jesus died on the Cross for you. That God raised Jesus from the dead three day’s later. That you know you’re a sinner and that you need to give control of your life to Jesus. That you want to be a new creation. Amen! I hope the Lord blesses you richly.

Colossians 3:13

2009-06-10T08:06:00.001-05:00

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” I think if more people would keep this upper most in their minds, there would be a lot less anger in the world.

Matthew 7:13-14

2009-06-09T08:07:00.000-05:00

"Wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it" Are the majority of us doomed to hell?

Joy

2009-06-07T20:14:00.001-05:00

Recently, I had a bit of an epiphany. It was one of those moments when something comes into such clear clarity that there was no mistaking this understanding for anything else. I was talking to a long time friend the other day and I was having a difficult time trying to understand something my friend was saying, I didn’t see their point. They were explaining how life was so difficult, how they couldn’t get something right, how there were all these external obstacles between them and the happiness they wished to achieve. I kept going over this instance in my mind, kind of like a scene in a move that gets replayed over and over and over again. What’s important to note is the obstacles this person had to over come were almost identical to my own. Yet I was not concerned in the way this person was. I wasn’t disappointed, depressed or otherwise disturbed. It was then that I notice the first of a few profound differences between me and my friend. I wasn’t concerned about money like my friend. I wasn’t worried about getting old like my friend. I wasn’t worried about not having enough time to do the things I wanted to do or be depressed because I didn’t have 100 friends or so. Yet my friend was all of these and more. I could see it was eating him up. Then it hit me. My friend didn’t have joy. He didn’t know the profound release that comes with having joy. Keep in mind that joy is defined as a great happiness or feelings of great happiness or pleasure, especially of an elevated or spiritual kind. So what or where did my sense of joy come from and why did it change my sense of being so that I did not worry about money, popularity or things.
So, I have joy my friend does not. Why? What separated us? What makes us different? You already know the answer to that question my friends. It’s Jesus. 1st Peter 1:8 says “The you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are fill with an inexpressible and glorious joy”. My friend was unhappy and depressed about a particular set of circumstances when I was not about the same set of circumstances in my life. You see, I believe in what’s happening in my life. No, I don’t want bad things to happen to me, but I can now put them into perspective. I do not worry about tomorrow. I don’t worry about money. I don’t worry about economy. I concentrate on one thing. Pleasing God. Mathew 6:31 – 34 says “So do not worry, saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear? For the pagans run after all these things and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own”. Do you see what I mean? Joy comes from serving the Lord from being in obedience to Him. By being in obedience to him, we have our needs met. If we read on in Matthew we see in chapter 7:9-11 “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father give good gifts to those who ask him!” If we have our needs met, we will find joy. It’s a bit of a ring don’t you think? However, I wish to caution you here. You must be looking to serve the Lord, not because you want something, but because you see the need to do so in your life.
Why do you need God in your life? Why do you need Jesus? Those are some honest questions to ask. The first thing we have to start off with is the bible. You see some folks question the validity of the bible. Some choose to accept parts of it and disregard other parts. Some choose to ignore it all together. Others add to it. Here’s the thing, if God was all knowing and all powerful and all everything. Wouldn’t he be able to create a document that spelled out what he wanted from us and what would be happening over the course of human life on earth? If you accept that God exists. Then you either accept the bible as 100% his word or you don’t accept it at all. Either he has the ability to put message to us or he doesn’t. I believe that the bible is 100% correct. That is my faith. If that is the case, and you agree with me, this next few parts may be painful, but needful. Romans 3:10 says “As it is written: there is no one righteous, not even one”. From the time of Adam humanity has failed to be righteous and if we are to call ourselves human, we must accept that we are unrighteous before God. Further in that same chapter it says in verse 23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of all”. Not a few, not many, not some….ALL. That’s me, you and anyone else that has ever lived or is going to live. Are you ready to admit your need for God? Do you need Jesus? Do you need the joy, the peace, the happiness that comes from surrendering your life to your Heavenly Father?
As I keep saying and will never stop saying until my last breath. The…Time….Is….Short. Do not let the time run out on your life without making a decision for Christ. Choose Christ, give yourself over to him. Romans 10:9 tells us that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the death, you will be saved. Saved from what? Saved from eternal torment in Hell. I can hear some of you out there saying “I’m a good person, I’m not going to hell, and God will take me in heaven”. Romans 5:1 says “Therefore, since we have been justified though faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”. Paul is saying that ONLY though faith can we be justified to God. Without faith in Christ, we have no hope, no joy and no eternal life. So, if you are finding yourself feeling driven to your knees at the moment. Let your heart be lifted. Call out to Christ. Tell him you need him in your life, that you are a sinner and that without him you can’t go on. Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord of your life and your salvation. Put your faith in Him and Him alone. If you do that, and you do it because you feel it in your heart, you are saved. Times may get tough. You may lose your home. You may lose your job. You may lose your car, a loved on, I can go on with things we can lose. But let me leave you with this. If you’ve given yourself to Jesus as Romans 10:9 says, you can never lose that. I will finish up with two verses. 1st John 4:4 says “You dear children are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” Romans 8:38-39 “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the further, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Hebrew 9:28

2009-06-02T08:29:00.000-05:00

Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

Death of George Tiller

2009-05-31T19:20:00.002-05:00

George Tiller was shot and killed at his church today. While I do not approve and think it is against the will of God what George Tiller did in reguard to abortions, he is still loved by God. The first question you have to ask yourself is, do you believe the bible 100%. If you don't, then don't bother reading farther, because you either take the bible in full or not at all. Okay, so first, how do we know that God loved George Tiller and the gunman that shot him (both violated the 6th commandmant you shall not murder). 2nd Peter 3:9 states "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." God does not want any of us to perish, he wants all of us to be saved. He does not want us killing each other.
Another thought here is the two great commandments. Matthew 22:37 states, "Jesus replied: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it; Love your neighbor as yourself." We are commanded by Jesus to love one another. Love the sinner but hate the sin.
Lastly, realize that we are all sinners and that Christ died for us all. Romans 5:8 states, "But God demonstrates his onw love for us in this; While we were still sinners Christ died for us." So as you think about your reaction to what happened today, I hope you will look upon it with sadness, with love, with mercy and with compassion. Much the same way I think Jesus would look upon it.

They didn't know sunday was coming

2009-05-30T22:09:00.002-05:00

You know, I was thinking about the movie "The Passion" the one that Mel Gibson directed awhile back. Thinking about that movie made me think about the Apostles. The Twelve. What were they thinking about during all this time. I mean, it was only 3 days. Jesus rose from the tomb on Sunday morning and he’d been in the tomb for three days, So that meant they put him in the tomb on Friday. That meant that he was crucified on Friday, which makes his arrest happen on Thursday. Okay, so follow with me here, he was arrested on Thursday, Crucified and entombed on Friday and rose from the dead on Sunday. Christ new all this was going to happen. He was ready, he was prepared and he was willing to follow the will of God. Yet the apostles didn’t know it. Oh, he’d told them. Luke 9:22 says "And he said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life". This he told to the 12 apostles. Yet they didn’t understand. Their understanding was limited as they had not yet been filled with the Spirit. That would come later after the resurrection and after Jesus had ascended into heaven. So here again, I ask the question. What were the Apostles thinking during the time of Christ’s arrest, crucifixion, burial and resurrection?
So, here are the twelve, seated with Christ at the Lords supper. They are merry, they think Jesus is about to throw down the Romans. They think Jesus is about to take command and rule Israel. They didn’t know that Sunday was coming. As the meal progressed they get a somber tone from Jesus, they hear him talk about his betrayal and his death. They are getting disturbed by this. They didn’t know, that Sunday was coming. After they had eaten and Judas had gone to the priests, they went to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed. He was angry with them for falling asleep, they didn’t understand that Sunday was coming. As Jesus was betrayed, as the they fought for a brief moment until Jesus commanded them to stop, they didn’t know that Sunday was coming. They didn’t want their Lord to be taken away by the Romans for surely this would be his death. Yet Sunday was coming. Peter followed all the way in, trying to stay as close to the Master as he could, yet denying him three times, because he didn’t know that Sunday was coming. Standing in the crowd, the people screamed "Crucify Jesus! Set Barabas free!" They too did not know that Sunday was coming. Pilot and Herod argued over who was to judge Jesus. Neither of them knew that Sunday was coming. The Guards mock Jesus. They didn’t know that Sunday was coming. The Guards beat him, tearing his flesh. Blood was pouring from his wounds. They too didn’t know that Sunday was coming. They lifted him high up on a cross. Thinking to kill him, to end his words. Still they didn’t understand that Sunday was coming. A thief guessed and begged Jesus to remember him when he came into his Kingdom, but even he didn’t fully understand what would happen Sunday morning. Jesus mother, watching her son be lifted onto the cross, hang there and die, she who knew God had put him in her womb, she didn’t know that Sunday was coming. No one knew as they placed him in the tomb that Sunday was coming. On the Sabbath day, Saturday, they rested. Then came Sunday morning!
Then came Sunday morning, and things had changed. Mary went to the tomb to take care of Jesus body. Luke Chapter 24 1 – 8 tell us what happened. "On thee first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, He has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee; The son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men be crucified and on the third day be raised." Then they remembered his words."
Sunday morning had come. Jesus had risen from the day. Luke 24:46 & 47 says "He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness will of sins will be preached in his name to all nations; beginning at Jerusalem."
That Sunday came almost 2000 years ago. Christ was crucified and died as a spotless offering to God for the sins of all mankind. Sunday has come and we are given an opportunity to repent and receive forgiveness of our sins. We are given a chance to avoid going to hell and to spend eternity in the loving warmth of our Savior and King. Are you ready for that? Are you ready to ask as the Thief did on the cross next to Jesus "Remember me when you come into your Kingdom’? If you are, you need to admit to yourself and to God that you are a sinner, that you can’t do it alone. That you need God and his wisdom. That you admit that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the Savior of all people. And you submit yourself to Jesus authority and turn away from your sins.

Stellar Kart Concert

2009-05-23T20:08:00.000-05:00

Friday night was awesome. I can describe to you folks just how well the concert went. Cavalry Chapel did a pretty good and big thing. Friday night was the Stellar Kart concert. Stellar Kart, Never the Less and Me in Motion. While everything was getting set up, I hand a chance to just hang out with Joshua Pearson, Lead Vocalist for Nevertheless. Josh is a quiet kind of guy. He’s very humble and very thankful about what he’s doing and where he’s going with the band. As we talked seemed genuinely concerned about the state of spiritual affairs in Arkansas City and what could be done. During their time on stage, he stopped and talked about one of their songs. The one called “Topics”. It seems that at some point during every concert they’ve given, some person, would find him and tell him their secret. That their parents hit them, or that they were depressed to the point of suicide, or that they had been abused. Maybe they were cutting themselves or skipping school. The song Topics was written to reach out to those kids, those that have a secret and feel they can only tell a stranger. If you are one of those kids, if you feel you have a secret that hurts you or is making you hurt inside, you can reach out to me, and I’ll help you find the Messiah.
I must have spoken with Josh for about twenty minutes and what was strange, is we were alone in a crowd. There were people all around us, but no one bothered us or told me to leave Josh alone. We just connected as fellow believers and that’s when it started to hit me.
As it drew closer to the time of the start of the concert, I could tell things were going to be happening tonight. The people were starting to line up at the door. They were excited. What’s more there was a sense of peace along with the excitement. People weren’t being rude, they weren’t hassleing one another. They were talking and carrying on. It was one of the greatest things I can think of about a rock concert like that. The other great thing were the bands themselves. I lost count of the number of times I saw various band members with their wives or girlfriends just walking around talking to people and totally blending in with everyone else going on around them. At one point Adam Agee was in the Wright room chasing his 3 yr old around the room laughing and carrying on. It all seemed natural. They were ordinary people with a gift for music. Only they chose to give their gift back to God and to celebrate Jesus and his Victory.
At one point during the Nevertheless portion of the concert Brian, who is the base player, was standing in the back of the auditorium near the door just listening and hanging out. Again, this is not the kind of behavior your see from the various secular bands out there. You don’t ACDC or Mick Jagger come out and just hang out with the crowds. You have to ask yourself, as I did, what truly makes this group special. What sets these Artists apart from their collegues in the Secular world?
As I said earlier, it hit me. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I have been to a number of concerts in my life and I’ve been to two Christian concerts and I can tell you there is a difference and I know what that difference is! Christian rock concerts are centered around God and Christ. Almost every song Stellar Kart played was about God or Christ. One song was about the choices some young women have to make. All in all, each of the bands, their families, their friends, the community even, were there to enjoy themselves and in the process of doing that to worship Christ. Out of 790 seats we had over 600 filled. It was awesome. I watched as teens who had for as long as I’ve known them never had light in their eyes, light up. I watched as little old ladies in their 60’s and 70’s swayed back and forth to the music about a living Redeemer and King. I listened as people yelled out Jesus or cheered at the mention of His name. And I cried as I felt the Holy Spirit work though those present and reach out to the lost.
So I want to know. Where you there? Did the music reach you? Did their comments reach you? Are you like a me, a sinner in need of a redeemer? I am a sinner, I say it all the time. I acknowledge that to my God and King, are you? If you are a sinner, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to take a step, take a stand? You know Tom Petty had some pretty powerful words for someone who wants to be a follower of Christ. “No I, won’t back down. No I won’t back down. You can stand me up at the gates of hell but I wouldn’t back down.
My friends, are you ready to take that step? Are you ready to stand up to the Gates of Hell? Or would you rather stand up to Christ first? If so, tell God now, tell him you’re a sinner in need of a redeemer. There is only one way to the Father, to God and that is through Jesus Christ.

Set me Free

2009-05-21T16:45:00.002-05:00

The Set Me Free Video is another emotional one. I've watched it several times. Reminds me of my life over the past 45 years. What about you guys? What does it make you think about?

James 2:14 - 17

2009-05-21T11:41:00.003-05:00

I was reading in the book of James this morning and came across this. "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish youwell; keep warm and well fed", but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way faith by itself, if it not accompanied by action, is dead".
My question friends is what is James trying to tell us? Is he saying we have to have works to get into heaven? Or is he telling us that our works are a showing of our faith? What do you guys think?

Lifehouse Drama

2009-05-19T20:58:00.002-05:00

The video that I have on this blog always reaches me emotionally. I'd like to know your impressions of it. For me I can see life. From our intended relationship with God we can see our own fall, whether it is Lust, Material Things, Vanity which finally drives us to the end of our rope. We have two choices at that ropes end. We can either succumb to our lack of faith and fall hopelessly into a pit of despair alone and lost or we can turn toward God and Christ and find the fulfillment of our life in them. So tell us what you think of the video.

Welcome

2009-05-19T15:05:00.004-05:00

Welcome to the blog for Music for the Messiah. Music for the Messiah is a weekly radio show on KACY 102.5 FM. We play Christian Rock and bring a message of hope. I will post the weekly message here for us to discuss. If you have questions, you can e-mail me at music4messiah@gmail.com. I am hopeful that we can use this blog as a means for bringing a message of hope and peace to a lost and dying world.