A Sign from GOD

   

During his time of ministry, Jesus went from coast to coast performing many miracles.

Until he came unto the parts of Dalmanutha. 

The book of Mark tells us that the Pharisees there asked for a sign from heaven.

Jesus said He wouldn't give a sign and departed to the other side. No miracles were done there.

Think about this for a minute.

 Here Jesus is traveling from coast to coast, performing many signs and wonders. 

Healings, casting out devils, multiplying bread and fish to feed the masses.

And the religious crowd wants a sign?

Open your eyes people. Signs are all around you.

Why didn't Jesus say. Duh! How many signs do you want? 

Instead he got in his boat and went to the other side. 

And performed miracles there.

Let’s recap.

Jesus sailing along pouring out blessings from heaven.

Bam! 

            People want a sign. 

                                                No more miracles.

The Pharisees couldn't believe in what God was doing. They didn't want to have faith. They wanted to see.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I've seen people healed. 

I've seen devils cast out. 

I've seen paint multiplied at an orphanage in Guatemala 

and I've seen pecans multiplied in Alabama. 

Those are signs that God is working in the lives of people today.

Isn't ironic that the children of Israel wanted cucumbers and leaks while eating manna from heaven?

Or later generations covet manna while living in the land of milk and honey. 

The Pharisees revered the prophets while the Son of God walked among them. 

Today, we say how great it must have been if we’d lived in the time of Jesus, but the power of the Holy Ghost is available to us. Why?

Why aren't we ever satisfied?

Learn a lesson from the Pharisees.

Stop searching for something you can see, and believe in the miracles around you. 

If God has opened doors for you, stop asking for confirmation and walk the path where he leads.

How many lepers in Dalmanutha weren't healed?

How many demoniacs lived in torment? 

How many harlots weren't saved? 

All because a group of people refused to believe in Jesus?

If God is calling you to a specific work and you’re praying for a sign, here it is.

We all have a choice to make. 

Sit in Dalmanutha and wait for a sign that not’s coming? 

Or go where God has called us and see miraculous works that bring Him glory.

How to measure Godly success!

How many souls did Jeremiah win? 

Was he in the will of God? 

If so, why didn’t anyone heed his message?

Sometimes we measure our success by the success of others. 

Sometimes we measure our success by the number of souls that we see won. 

God has been dealing with me lately on obeying by faith.

In other words, I have been guilty of measuring success by the results that I see. 

But what about the results that I can't see? 

What about the seeds that I planted, but someone else reaped the harvest? 

Or the souls given the opportunity for salvation?

What about you?

How do you measure your ministerial success? 

Do you mentally add up the souls that have prayed in your altar 

and feel like a failure?

Think about Jeremiah. 

With the exception of maybe Baruch, he didn’t see positive results from his weeping. 

However, we can’t count the number of lives impacted 

by the books of Jeremiah and Lamentations today.

Was Jeremiah successful? 

The third chapter of Lamentations shows that 

the prophet believed he had failed. Did he?

No. Because of his obedience to God’s calling, Jeremiah fulfilled his mission.

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world,

 and preach the gospel to every creature. ~ Mark 16:15

Have you gone where God has lead you? Are you preaching the gospel?

Then congratulations! Your ministry is a success.

It doesn’t matter if you pastor a church running 5 or 5000, if you preach on the street corner, in a Sunday school class, or on the aisles of the grocery store. If you are doing what God has called you to do, then you are a success in His eyes.

Yes, we should pray. We should love. We should hunger. We should have burdens.

 But those are all things done in obedience. 

Don’t slack up if you aren’t seeing results.

Obey God’s calling and let Him tally up the harvest.

WANTED: Godly Vessels

Churches needed for Ladies recovering from addictions!

Several ladies, in several different communities are searching for a “passionate” church. In their own words, they are looking for a church where they can “feel” what they felt during salvation.

These ladies are babes in Christ. 

They need an atmosphere of worship. 

They need mentors to help them grow spiritually.  

They need a church filled with the gifts and power of God 

that set them free from addiction.

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If I sent one of these women to you, will they find what they need?

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Will they experience God’s presence during worship? 

Will they have liberty to pray? 

Will they encounter forgiveness for their past sins? 

Will they find a place at the cross? 

Will you express Godly love to them?

For many of you, I know you would answer, yes. Because I’ve experienced these things in your churches. But most of these ladies live in areas that I’m not familiar with. Some need transportation to and from services.

If you are a vessel that God can use to disciple these ladies and help them with their walk in God, leave a comment with your church name and contact information. Or use the "contact form" on the right side on this blog page and I will introduce you to one of these amazing women.

If you would like to be added to the churches and evangelists that I recommend send your photo along with your contact information.

2014

Hello, 2014

 

I’m so ready for the New Year. Here's why...

God has blessed my writing and has enabled me to help others. Empowered Publications is acquiring new publishing projects. If you are an aspiring writer, visit www.empoweredpublicationsinc.com for more information.

Whatever Is Done is currently undergoing edits. The final book of The Whatever Series will be published early Spring 2014. I can’t wait to see the results in print.

My new office is the bomb. Renovations are underway.

Ministry opportunities are opening as well as speaking engagements. Several events are marked on my calendar.

So let’s get this party started.

 

2013

The best thing about 2013 is…it's history.

 

Some days were like soaring through the clouds. Others were like crashing into unmovable mountains. With the Lord’s help, I not only survived, but I witnessed mighty acts of God.

 

Souls were lost. Souls were saved.

Lives were taken. Lives were spared.

But through it all,

 God is faithful.

A Judas Motivation?

 

I’ve often wondered why Judas betrayed Jesus. What was his motivation? Judas was the treasurer of the disciples, and I’ve heard preachers elude to his greediness, but I’d never seen it in scripture for myself.

As a writer, I often deal with character motivation. The why of an individual's action.

To me, simple greediness wouldn’t be a strong enough motivator to betray one you love, admire, and have seen perform many miracles. But anger can propel men to do stupid things.

Was Judas angry? Why?

In Matthew 26, when the woman came with the Alabaster box and anointed Jesus feet, the disciples (including Judas) had indignation (anger). The perfume is assumed to be very expensive. They wondered, why wouldn’t this be sold and the money given to the poor.

Jesus rebuked them. Harshly. Not only did he tell his disciples to leave the woman alone. He praised her actions and prophesied that wherever the gospel would be told, people would know of her good work.

He never said this about the disciples.

So let’s recap and look for Judas motivation.

1.      He didn’t understand why? He thought anointing Jesus feet was a waste of money. He didn’t know Jesus was about to be crucified.

2.      Judas probably didn’t like to be publicly chastised. (No one does.)

3.      He possibly could have been jealous of Jesus’s praise for the woman’s work.

4.      Judas had the bag. He had control over the money. Did he want it for himself?

The power of suggestion here doesn’t give us Judas’s exact reasoning, but it gives suspicion enough to make his next actions supportable, even though he’d seen Jesus do many miracles in the three years he’d walked by his side. Did anger motivate Judas to betray his Lord?

What motivates my characters? What motivates me? Anger at not understanding God’s reasoning? Embarrassment for being wrong in times past? Jealous over another’s good works? Greed?

Or love for my savior?

 

What's our motivation? Why do we do the things we do?

 

The Bible says we should work out our own salvation with FEAR and TREMBLING. I think it's good to examine our motivation from time to time.

 

Am I angry at God because I don't fully understand the work that he is doing? Do I sit down and pout when I discover that I don't know everything that I thought I did? Do I work for God just to say that did more than other Christians? Or do I write for money and fame?

 

I used to be angry at God for not allowing me to grow up in a Pentecostal family. But now, I understand that my childhood experiences better serve the call He has on my life.

I confess that I hate being wrong, but I'm learning that I don't have to be right all the time.
As for jealously, unless you count Amazon rankings, I don't have a problem with this. Years ago, I had access to large amounts of money and that didn't make me happy. But fame? Some people have a fear of failure. I have a fear of success. I've seen many great men and women of God fall after they reached a pinnacle of worldly acclaim. That's why I try to live a life pleasing to God. I don't always accomplish this goal, and I sometimes fail, but I'll keep trying because I don't want to be a Judas. I want to finish the race God has set before me with humility.

 

What motivates you?

 

Leave a comment for a chance to win a signed copy of Whatever It Takes, the second book in The Whatever Series now available in print and ebook.

The Whatever Series Book #2

Attorney Cole Maxwell has waited twenty-eight years to find his godly bride.

He never dreamed he'd find her in a jail cell. ~ WHATEVER IT TAKES

Available on Kindle.

Whatever It Takes