Happy Saturday!

Mark 6:10-11 “Wherever you go,” he said, “stay in the same house until you leave town. But if any place refuses to welcome you or listen to you, shake its dust from your feet as you leave to show that you have abandoned those people to their fate.”

This was spoken by Jesus to his twelve disciples as He sent them out into the world.

Jesus told these disciples to preach the good news about salvation, and heal sick people, and drive out demons… anywhere they were welcomed. And wherever they were not welcomed, they were supposed to wipe the dust from their feet and abandon that city to its fate.

In some cities, they brought heaven to earth. The people believed in Jesus, and their whole future was changed for the better!

Other cities rejected Jesus by rejecting His disciples… and those cities were abandoned to their fate.

I believe: he who refuses a relationship with Christ is abandoned to his fate by default.

The word “fate” in this text refers to a catastrophic default that exists in every unsaved person.

Salvation is a very big deal!

Without Christ, people are separated from God… and even with an outwardly successful life, they are abandoned to a devils fate.

Ephesians 2:1-5 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)

Faith in Jesus changes everything!

Would you like to shatter the catastrophic default that is yours by living outside of faith?

Believe in Jesus! Throw away your reasons for doubting Him. Stop pushing him away. Jesus is not the one who is trying to destroy your life.

John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I (Jesus) have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

1 John 3:8 For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

Acts 10:38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

Faith in Jesus changes everything!

Tomorrow morning, I will continue my series, “The Forgotten Power Of Expectancy.” (Faith In Jesus Changes Everything)

Have a great Saturday everyone!

With much love…

Dream Big, Live Bold, and Make the Difference!

Chuck

The Donate Link, Facebook, Twitter, Make me a Legend, Destiny Family Center, You Tube

Happy Friday!

I’m writing from McDonalds once again… logged into youtube and fumbled into the following featured video. It blessed me so much that I thought to bless you with it.

In this video, “I Give Myself Away,” William McDowell sings…

Chorus:
I give myself away
I give myself away
So You can use me
I give myself away
I give myself away
So You can use me

Verse 1:
Here I am
Here I stand
Lord, my life is in your hands
Lord, I’m longing to see
Your desires revealed in me
I give myself away

Verse 2:
Take my heart
Take my life
As a living sacrifice
All my dreams all my plans
Lord I place them in your hands

Chorus:
I give myself away
I give myself away
So You can use me
I give myself away
I give myself away
So You can use me

Chorus:
I give myself away
I give myself away
So You can use me
I give myself away
I give myself away
So You can use me

Bridge(7X):
My life is not my own
To you I belong

This song makes me think about a few key verses from the Bible.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

Psalm 143:10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.

John 15:9-12 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

John 10:10-12 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. ”I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.

Really, God has done so much to save you and me from our old, empty lives. Jesus laid His self all the way down so that we can benefit from His sacrificial mission.

Do you have a sacrificial mission?

Today, let us realize that we have been purchased (redeemed, ransomed, rescued, saved) with a very high price and we no longer belong to ourselves. God has a plan for our lives and that plan oftentimes requires sacrifice.

Give yourself away.

Honor God with your body… everyday!

Seek to know His will for your life… and do that, whatever it is!

Always fight to remain in the love of God, the kind of love that lays its whole life down for a sacrificial mission!

ANNOUNCEMENT: The revival that began @ Destiny Family Center a few weeks ago continues! People are still coming to Christ all week long! The stories are unbelievable. Yesterday three more people were led to Christ through two different groups of new Christians. Can you imagine what this Sunday mornings service is going to be like? See you there @ 10am!

I just finished praying for you, hoping you really feel the difference. Please let me know about how this blog positively affects your life today.

Leave your comments here on the blog site so that we will always have a record of your beautiful thoughts.

With much love…

Dream Big, Live Bold, and Make the Difference!

Chuck

The Donate Link, Facebook, Twitter, Make me a Legend, Destiny Family Center, You Tube

Happy Thursday!

One minute we can feel like we are changing the world, like at any moment all of our efforts will bring this troubled universe to a necessary halt and then send it spinning in the right direction… and in the next minute, we can feel like we are nothing more than a tiny bird on a skyscraper balcony rail, peeping our good message out into an endless abyss of blaring sounds.

Sometimes, this world can be so intimidating. Sometimes it stares and points the good man down… with its accumulated intelligence, and its harsh mockery. The godless voices rumble in defiance to mute down every humble messenger of hope… until it seems like there is nothing left for the good bird to do, but flee to the mountains… in search of a sanctuary where his faint song can resonate through the valleys and become the euphoric ambiance of a simpler, better world.

This morning, I watched a few news debates at foxnews.com. On one of these debates, two high profile individuals tore each other apart over the condition of our world. One of them mocked Jesus and the Christian population. He was dressed in a $10,000 suite, sitting in a multimillion dollar NYC studio, appearing to be powerful beyond comprehension.

As I watched, I thought to myself, “Will either of these guys read my book? If they do, will they mock it into an oblivion or simply speed read through chapter one and then throw it in the trash? Has this world become too ‘advanced’ for my humble peeping?”

Read the following verses very slowly… meditate on them all day long.

Romans 1:21-25 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.

1 Corinthians 3:18-20 Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a “fool” so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.

1 Corinthians 2:13-14 When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.

1 Corinthians 1:26-29 Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.

Key phrases from these great verses:

Their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools… For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight… People who aren’t spiritual can’t receive (comprehend) these truths from God’s Spirit… God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are.

Dear follower of Jesus: Don’t ever buckle under the temporary pseudo powers of this failing modern civilization. Keep on peeping out your humble messages of hope… keep on singing your beautiful song… be the ambiance of tomorrows simpler, better world… until the whole world finally appreciates your humble sanctuary!

Micah 4:1-3

In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s house
will be the highest of all—
the most important place on earth.
It will be raised above the other hills,
and people from all over the world will stream there to worship.

People from many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of Jacob’s God.
There he will teach us his ways,
and we will walk in his paths.”
For the Lord’s teaching will go out from Zion;
his word will go out from Jerusalem.

The Lord will mediate between peoples
and will settle disputes between strong nations far away.
They will hammer their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will no longer fight against nation,
nor train for war anymore.

I believe the time will come… when the powers of this world will be humbled. Man will realize his need for God again. He will look to the mountain. He will admire the birds. Some of us will live to see this with our own eyes.

A wild blog for sure! Read it a few times, until something big happens!

I just finished praying for you, hoping you really feel the difference. Please let me know about how this blog positively affects your life today.

Leave your comments here on the blog site so that we will always have a record of your beautiful thoughts.

With much love…

Dream Big, Live Bold, and Make the Difference!

Chuck

The Donate Link, Facebook, Twitter, Make me a Legend, Destiny Family Center, You Tube

Happy Wednesday!

I’ve been writing my blogs from McDonnalds this week. That is because I’ve had to drive Emily to work and then go to visit my grandma… and driving back home or to my office chews up the precious time I can be spending with her.

Today, I want to thank God for loving you and me like He does. His love is the greatest force in the universe. He is always there for us… always.

As you may already know, I went my entire life without a family funeral until I was 34 years old. There is one exception: my great grandmother passed away when I was 12, and sadly, I don’t remember much from that period of time. She lived in New York and we were in Virginia, and we (my dad, brother, and I) were not able to attend the funeral… and the only thing I remember about time, is crying for about an hour under a few big oak trees where I was raking leaves with my brother.

Then, four and a half years ago… my beloved Mom went to heaven. If there ever was a mommas boy, it was me. I wondered how I was going to keep on living. God, carried me every day.

Then, a year and a half later, my moms dad went to heaven. He was such a huge force in my life, because he loved me like his own son.

Then, a year and a half later, my moms 41 year old brother (my uncle) went to heaven. Because we were so close in age… he was more like a best friend than an Uncle.

Then, a year later, my father in law went to heaven. He loved me just as much as he loved his own daughter… and my wife was the biggest daddy’s girl I’ve ever known.

This week, our family is walking through the valley of the shadow of death once again. My grandmother seems to be days, even moments away from going to heaven. On Tuesday she told me she has lived a good life and she wants to go to heaven. I thank God she is not in pain… and she is leaving the earth as beautifully as it can happen. Yet, she has become like my mom since I lost my mom and she lost her only son.

Even though I have an amazing wife and kids, and many great friends, and a few other family members still living… I feel like my grandmother is the last nurturing voice covering my life. When I think about losing her, it blows my mind.

I didn’t write this message for sympathy. There is a little bit more to this story…

God’s grace.

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind but now I see.

God’s grace is always enough.

Your grace is enough
Your grace is enough
Your grace is enough for me

Your grace is enough
Heaven reaching down to us
Your grace is enough for me
God i see your grace is enough
I’m covered in your love
Your grace is enough for me
For me

Today, I thank God… that when I look into my future, no matter what lies ahead, He will never leave me, nor forsake me. How do I know this for sure? Because He has never let me down before.

I wish that so many more people would get close enough to God, that they would truly experience this amazing grace.

I honestly do not know how people make it through tragedy without YOU, Lord.

I chose this title, “Jesus Really Loves You” because I felt like God wanted you to hear this today. I feel like God is hugging you, through me. I hope His grace comes to you this day!

Jeremiah 31:3-4 Long ago the Lord said to Israel: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself. I will rebuild you, my virgin Israel. You will again be happy and dance merrily with your tambourines.”

I just finished praying for you (in McDonnalds), hoping you really feel the difference. Please let me know about how this blog positively affects your life today.

Leave your comments here on the blog site so that we will always have a record of your beautiful thoughts.

With much love…

Dream Big, Live Bold, and Make the Difference!

Chuck

The Donate Link, Facebook, Twitter, Make me a Legend, Destiny Family Center, You Tube