The Russian Connection

Done With A Frown & A Tight First

Giving should be second nature for us.

No matter what spectrum it might be, of our time, money or talents, we should always be have a heart that is ready to give to God out of love & gratitude.

• If all you ever do when you give is think about yourself and how much more you want to accumulate, you’re missing the whole point of giving.......

First off, God does not NEED your money to do anything.

But He designed that so that in part it would be an act of faith from us, that it would not only multiply to bless us, but also further the Kingdom of God and bless other people! -Since that is the true heart of God: people!!

Now don't run off with a doctrine that i said you can't sow a seed for yourself or a specific situation and believe God....that's not what I am saying, because that is completely Biblical! but our giving should go beyond only that.

When you give out of the purest form of just adoration, thankfulness and love towards God, when the enemy comes and plants a thought in mind like “wow…you just lost all that money…….You could of used that for something else, but you just wasted it” you don’t have to fear at all… because you didn’t  give based on all of all that, you gave just because you love Him, and you can just say if He wants to bless me in return then praise God!”.

Otherwise you’ll get into fear & doubt.

• But because of sowing & reaping, I can promise you that when you give to God out of a right heart, expecting His Kingdom to be blessed, you can be reassured that He multiplies it and it’s the best investment you ever made!

TODAY:

God loves a CHEERFUL giver!

  Open up any tights grips you may have on things and instead be a channel that God can continually bless because He trusts to know that you always continually give!!!! It's a lifestyle!

THE INVASION

 

"Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken"

PSALMS 55:22

Even in just the last month.......
it feels like so much around us has been in the middle of changing.

Many peoples spheres of comfort have been invaded by the troubles and issues of this world.

Maybe you're one of them.

I think at times, we all wish we had an invisble force shield around our sphere on comfort, but the fact is that avoiding change & discomfort in life, is nearly impossible. 

So when things do begin to shake, make sure that your not just standing, trying to balance on your own two feet, but you grab a hold of something that is established and grounded. 

And that, is Jesus Christ.

• He is the one thing that you can always count on to remain the same in the midst of change.(Heb 13:8)
  

 TODAY:

Cast your burden on God and let HIM sustain you!

When things begin to shake, make sure your grip on Him is firmer than ever before, and that you're not trying to balance life on your own!

There is a song that I have always enjoyed the words to,

“Walking In Memphis”

It is an extraordinary and diverse city from its barbeque, Fed Ex, Nike and churches!

In the suburbs of Memphis, is one of my dear friends of many years, Randel McCarty’s church, Cathedral of Praise.

(Pastors Randel & Darlene McCarty)

I love preaching at Praise Cathedral because the congregation is always filled with an atmosphere of expectation. You can feel it as soon as you walk in the building.

The property is pristine and the moment you open the door you are greeted with the finest of southern hospitality. The music is filled with the power of praise. This is not a quiet Sunday morning service by any means!

• When I invited people to repent of their sins, they filled the altars.
• 22 people received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior!

Most of the congregation returned on Sunday night, even hungrier for God than on Sunday morning!

***Thank you pastor Randel and Darlene for allowing me to be a part of a church that is making a difference in the city of Cordova, TN.

 PEACE.  
With Who? & Where Does It Come From?

“….Let him search for peace….and seek it eagerly. [Do not merely desire peaceful relations with God, with your fellowmen, and with yourself, but pursue, go after them!] "

 -1 Peter 3:11

When Jesus said, Peace I leave with you… (John 14:27) , He was talking about a special kind of peace, not a worldly kind of peace. The special peace that Jesus was talking about is the kind of peace that operates all the time in every situation.

• Because peace is not the absence of trouble, it’s the presence of God.

The peace that you have in your relationship with Jesus can help you to have peace even when you are experiencing the storms of life.

1 Peter 3:11 talks about 3 areas where we should search for and pursue peace.

        1. With God, 2. With our fellow man and 3. With ourselves.

        That word seek means to “…strive after, endeavor….desire.”

It doesn’t just happen, but peace comes when we make the decision in our hearts that chaos and fear will no longer be apart of our mentality.

You will see it start to manifest itself when you take some time to set apart a little part of each day just for God.

    It will help you to stay focused and confident when the winds start to blow.

    It reminds you that His Word promises that He will always take care of you.

 THE HEARTCHANGE OF A ROBBER

When Jesus was hanging on the cross,
there were 2 men that hung on each side of Him. (Matt 27:38)

    Both the robbers were casting the same insult at Him. (Matt 27:44)

    But then in Luke 23:39 we see that one of the men had a change of heart-

“One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, "Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!"
40 But the other answered, and rebuking him said, "Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?
41 "And we indeed justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong."
42 And he was said, "Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!"
⁴³ He replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

I think that perhaps maybe, just maybe, the man heard Jesus cry out “Lord, forgive them for they know not what they do” after everything that He had been put through….and that Love, was so gripping, that it overwhelmed any hate or bitterness inside the heart of that robber.

Maybe your at a point to in your life where you know you’ve done wrong… a lot wrong, and you’ve even doubted and spoken things against God.

I want to encourage you that it’s not too late to cry out for God’s forgiveness and cry “Lord! Please, remember me”!

Let His love work in you.

You don’t have to be angry anymore….or feel hurt or lost.

TODAY:

Jesus wants to meet you right where you are at.

Give Him the chance.

DON’T RETREAT, RE-LOAD!

“Moses said to the people: “Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out of this place…”

EXODUS 13:3

Sometimes life gives us hard blows and things start to get heavy

The result?

We often begin to take steps backward in retreat.

But today I want to encourage you not to.

Stand your ground.

Don’t just pray and ask God to give you strength, but let Him to BE your strength.

• In uncertain times where you don't know what to do...start first with what you DO know to do.
  

Some things remain the same no matter what we go through. 
            -We can always come to God in prayer
            - Find scriptures to speak over situation. Ex. Prov 3:5,6 promises that the Lord will guide your steps when you don't try to figure it all out yourself but you lean on Him. 

TODAY:

Never retreat doing what is right even when it's not easy.

Don't retreat- re-load & re-fire!

THE TRUTH ABOUT YOU

It is easy to get discouraged when things are going badly....

But we shouldn't lose heart because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of our pain and suffering. For all the negative things we so often tend to think and even say about ourselves, God is right there to counter it by saying the truth about us!

You say: "I'm always worried & frustrated"
God says: Cast all your cares upon me. (1 Peter 5:7)

You say: "I'm too tired"
God says: I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28-30)

You say: "Nobody really loves me"
God says: I love you. (John 3:16 & John 3:34)

You say: "I can't go on..."
God says: My grace is sufficient. (II Corinthians 12:9 & Psalm 91:15)

You say: "I can't figure things out"
God says: I will direct your steps. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

You say: "I can't do it"
God says: You can do all things throught Christ. (Philippians 4:13)

You say: "I can't forgive myself"
God says: I forgive you. (1 John 1:9 & Romans 8:1)

You say: "I feel all alone"
God says: I will never leave you nor forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5)

REMEMBER:

Next time you feel like your little hut is burning to the ground, it just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of God.

 Friendship......

is one of the most powerful connections we have in life.

 

God so desired a friendship with us that He even gave the most valuable thing He had in return for it, because He knew its importance.

Just recently, I experienced great personal emotion, specifically because of friendship. 

Monday, I got a gut wrenching call from my life long friend, Mike Tyler’s wife Bonnie. She said Mike had been diagnosed with fourth stage cancer, and had been sent home from the doctors with little hope.

I find myself almost overwhelmed as I am trying to write this because it has hit such a deep part of my heart as I, myself went through treatment for cancer.  

I could write an entire book about my friendship with Mike that would be filled with laughter, joy and tears. 

He has meant the world to me and is someone that,
without a second of hesitation, I would lay down my life for.

I hope you have friends whom you know love you unconditionally and would do the same for you.

Today I am asking you to please join me in prayer for Mike Tyler, a mighty man of God and his dear wife Bonnie. Pray that God will show himself strong on their behalf and show them His grace beyond anything they have ever known before. 

God is still doing miracles today,
and is ready to come to the aid of those who believe!

Your friend, 

Mikel

Always “Me-Minded”

“...If anyone intends to come after Me, let him deny himself [forget, ignore, disown, and lose sight of himself and his own interests] and take up his cross and follow me...”

Mark 8:34

If you want to lead a miserable, unhappy life….
all you have to do is just think about yourself all the time.

When everything becomes about us, and what we do and how we think, we reduce life down to a fraction of what it was meant to be.

• Life is about God, about His people and how we can best love and serve Him!

Sometimes it can fell like a challenge trying to keep ourselves off of our minds because we are so emotional and thought driven, but I find that the more I obey the Lord’s command in this area, the happier I become.

Obviously we can’t live without taking care of ourselves or doing the right things for ourselves, but that doesn’t mean that we have to be consumed with selfish, self-centered ambitions & mindsets.

• Anything taken to an extreme can become a weakness of coarse, so that is why it’s so important that we stay balanced in every area!

True joy comes when you live for God!   

TODAY:

Give, share, love, laugh and enjoy life together with others!

THE CAUSE FROM A THOUGHT

  PROVERBS 27:3

“As a man thinks in his heart, so is he”

 All fruit has a root from which it began.
&&
  The root of our actions is our thoughts.

                    Words come from thoughts.
                    Attitudes begin with thoughts.
                    Emotions are created from thoughts.
                    Moods are birthed from thoughts.

No one but God and yourself knows exactly what’s going on in your mind.......

So it all comes down to an “inner purity” so to speak. You have to manage yourself. No one else can do it for you.

• It’s each one of our responsibilities to monitor ourselves and do inventory checks of what we are allowing our thoughts to dwell on.

Inner purity can be a huge challenge because it comes down to integrity..... Doing the right thing even when no one sees or knows.

• We have to cast down wrong thoughts that don’t agree with God’s word. Things that don’t line up with the character and holiness of God.

TODAY:

I encourage you to live more aware of your thoughts, moods and attitudes as you go through this week!