Feb 7, 2012

How Hungry Are You?

                      
                              Matthew 5:6

Are you hungry enough to chase after God? Psalm63.1,7-8:                                                                      
"O God, You are my God, earnestly will I seek You; my inner self thirsts for You, my flesh longs and is faint for You, in a dry and weary land where no water is.
For You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings will I rejoice.
My whole being follows hard after You and clings closely to You; Your right hand upholds me."
God is waiting for you to catch Him. It's time to get out of the church that we know, It's time to break out of the praise and worship that we know, it's time to stop praying the same old way we always pray , and it's time to realize we need Him , not that we need to know about Him or of the past things He has done, and start seeking who He is now and what He is doing right now. God wants us to know Him. He wants  us to be so hungry for Him that we are chasing Him.
In his book, {The God Chaser}, Tommy Tenney says; The difference between the truth of God and revelation is very simple. Truth is where God has been, revelation is where God is. Truth is God's tracks, His trail, His path, but it leads to Him.  But true God chaser's are not satisfied to know where God's been, they are not content to just study His trail, His truths, they want to know Him. They want to know where He is and what He is doing right now.
God is not asking us how much we know about Him; He is asking us do we really know Him, do we really want Him?  Knowing about Him doesn't imply intimacy.  Knowing Him does.
God is not going to pour out His spirit where He doesn't find hungry. And you can not live in His presence without repentance, because repentance permits the pursuit of God's presence.
So again I ask you to consider this question. How hungry are you to know God?

Feb 2, 2012

Living More Abundantly

All scripture in this blog is from the King James Version.


Christian living is to live more abundantly and to live more abundantly is to love more abundantly. Matthew 5: 46&47 says" If you love them that love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing thus? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Aren't even the pagans doing that?

It is when you love the unlovable , do for those who are not your inner circle of family or friends, reach out to the distressed ( and or ) the needy, share the love that God has freely given to you with those who don't know or haven't received His love.  We as Christians need to go that extra mile. In Matthew 5:41 it says " Whosoever shall compell thee to go one mile go with them two."

In Luke 6:38 it says " Give and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall they give unto you. For with what measure you meet it shall be measured to you again." In an excerpt from A.T. Mahanay's sermon- {It's the part that hangs over that keeps you warm.}Good measure is standard, so if you want real comfort in Christian living, press it down, shake it together, run it over, do a little extra, add a little something- a little love, a little service, a little kindness.

Use the parable of the good Samaritan found in Luke 10: 30-37. The good Samaritan went the the extra mile, he went beyond the standard help that was necessary. He not only took him to the inn but, he also paid all of his expenses till he got well. Here are some today examples. Example #1- If you saw a person who had been beaten up the standard would be to call the police, but, to go that extra mile would be to take them to safety, clean the wounds the best you could, and be the helping hand they need till they can stand on their own again. Example #2- If you saw an accident take place the standard would be to call for help but, to go the extra mile would be to you would tend to their needs the best you know how and you would stay with them till arrived , then check on them from there on always remembering them in prayer.

The Christian way of life is to go beyond the standard and go the extra mile, give the extra dollar, reach a little farther with your helping hand, love beyond those who love you back.
In John 15: 13 it says " Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for another." There are many interpretations of this verse but in the text that I using it in I interpret it in this manner; there is no greater love you can give than to put you out of the forefront to do for someone else in the Christian manner that we are called to show forth.