Happy Wednesday!

I’m writing from the hospital this morning. My grandmother had a very bad yesterday, suffering with shortness of breath… it looks like she’ll be here for a few more days. Don’t stress, we prayed a very powerful prayer and she’s on her way to recovery. She’s such a beautiful person!

I bought her the coolest stuffed animal. It’s a medium sized sheep with a beautiful coat of fur… she named him, Mops. (smile)

Taking Charge Of Your World

Do you ever feel like an abused mouse on a wheel, running and panting, sometimes without a perceptible degree of progress?

Sadly, this is the predicament of so many people in todays world. Most of us are so overcommitted, that it only takes a tiny piece of straw to “break the camels back”.

Am I describing your predicament?

If so, then why?

Why are you letting life control you like this? Why do I sometimes let my life control me like this?

I think it’s because we all want to accomplish so much and make a big difference for so many people, and too often…

We bite off more than we can chew.

Trust me… this blog is coming from the busiest person you may ever meet. I am the expert at biting off more than I can chew… and most of the time, I miraculously swallow it all down. Every bite!

Yet, I’m positive that God is far more glorified in our lives when we better regulate our commitments.

Really, you should be able to say no (often when necessary) without feeling guilty.

To do this, you’ll have to overcome your fear of upsetting people, or letting them down.

You’re only one person. God is not pleased when your life flies out of balance. He’s saddened with your anxiety… saddened to see you so far outside of His will for your life.

Beware of those people in your world who constantly push their responsibilities to you, because they know you can handle so much.

Maybe this is one of those once in a decade moments, when you need to reassess your commitments… and reclaim charge of your daily schedule?

Make a list of everything you’re trying to accomplish. Prioritize your tasks. Delegate when possible.

Maybe you can make a few phone calls and un-commit yourself to some of your meaningless pursuits.

Make room for the most important things first.

Rest systematically. Eat healthy foods. Exercise often. Spend quality time with the special people in your life.

Enjoy this life you’ve been given… it is a gift from God.

Most of all… be who God is asking you to be. Do what God is asking you to do. Pray until you know what this is, then pray for the courage to actually do it.

Revelation 4:11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”

That’s all for today. I just finished praying for you. So, make this a mot triumphant Wednesday. See some of you tonight, 7pm @ Destiny Family Center for a worship service! 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 Saturday!

Todays blog is my reply to a brilliant comment from yesterdays blog, posted by my dear Indonesian friend Esslythe Harsanto. If you have the time, you should re-familiarize yourself with that blog, “Pure Honesty Is A Beautiful Thing,” and read Esslythe’s comment.

Here in America, we normally do the same thing. In-house ministers don’t normally receive payment for ministering at their home church.

We do customarily pay salaries to certain key “full time” ministry leaders, such as the Lead Pastor, Lead Worship Pastor, Administrative Personnel, Youth and Children’s Pastors, and other full time ministry leaders depending upon the size of the church community.

For me, the key to what you’re saying is that it is permissible for ministers to receive payment for ministry related activities, as long as he or she is never doing ministry “for hire”.

As you know, the American economy was hit very hard last year.

I know of a church that went through a very difficult time when a group of people left in hostility to start another church. During that time, the Lead Pastor and his wife forfeited almost one half of their salary and benefits in order to navigate their church through those rough waters. The sacrifice was so painful, this Pastor almost lost his house to bank foreclosure.

During this time, he started to question God, “Why are you not providing for me.”

And God replied, “Dear child, do you remember when you first entered into full time ministry and you begged Me to send you? Do you remember telling Me, ‘Please God, I will do ministry for free, I will even pay You for the privilege of ministering to Your special people… I will sacrifice everything if you will just say the word! Please call me out of the boat and I will walk on the water!’”

God continued, “Ever since the day you went into full time ministry, I have provided all of your needs. You have been very blessed for your service in my Kingdom… even though you promised to work for nothing and you promised you would even pay Me for the ‘privilege’ of ministering to My special people.”

Finally, God’s words had a profound effect on this discouraged pastor when He said, “And now today, you are being called to keep that promise you made to Me. I am testing you at this time… to see if you really meant what you promised. Do you still have that same heart, today? Are you still serving in my Kingdom for the right reasons? Are you still willing to ‘sacrifice everything’ for the PRIVILEGE of SERVING my special people? Or has the ministry become your career? Have you become a hireling just that fast?”

Thankfully, this minister understood what the Lord was explaining to him… and he recommitted his life to the PURE SERVICE of his high calling!

God loves to reward His children for their service in His Kingdom. There are so many scriptures in the Old and New Testaments where God commands His people to financially reward those who serve in ministry. Here is one of them…

1 Timothy 5:17-18 NLT, “Elders who do their work well should be respected and paid well, especially those who work hard at both preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain.” And in another place, “Those who work deserve their pay!”

Yet, we that serve in ministry must always maintain the purity of our real reason for being in ministry. Jesus is our model. He is the ultimate Shepherd. Jesus created an example that we should always follow.

In John 10:11-15, Jesus taught about this to His closest disciples on the night he was betrayed. Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep. “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.”

Dear Essly, you and your people have a true Shepherds heart today, because you have a beautiful Pastor who has taught you very well. Guard you hearts always… so that even when the time comes that you are financially rewarded for your service, you will never become like the hired help.

I long to visit my dear friends in Indonesia. You people inspire me everyday! God willing, the time will come… and what a day that will be!

To everyone else who serves in God’s Kingdom… always do what you do because you genuinely love God and the people you are serving. Never for any kind of reward. Always guard your heart against the selfish spirit of this age. Study the life and teachings of Jesus Christ… and aim to be more and more like Him in every way!

Here’s a great song for this moment: Perfect Love, Hillsong.

I just finished praying for you all. Make this a most triumphant day! 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!

Fire goes out without wood, and quarrels disappear when gossip stops. -Proverbs 26:20 NLT

What a statement!

I’m guessing everyone’s been to a gossip fire before. Sadly, most of us have wasted too many valuable hours and days telling our gossip fire stories.

If we’ll be honest, if we’ll admit it: we’ve even been the person to single handedly keep some fires burning… with the logs of our combustible words.

The Apostle Paul instructed Christian people how we should talk: Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. -Ephesians 4:29 NIV

I think about my friend Levi Brown. He’s a fire fighter. Whenever he gets that call, he lays his life on the line without hesitation. Levi suits up, hops into his fire truck and races to the fire. Just as soon as he arrives to the scene, he and his fellow fire fighters do everything they were trained to do. They rescue people out of the flames, they put out every fire as quickly as possible. And our community cherishes her fire department. We pray for our fire fighters, to be safe and successful every day.

Today, I’m talking about another kind of fire. It’s not started with fuel, spark, and air. This kind of fire doesn’t char the physical bodies of its victims. Much worse, the gossip fire chars the reputation of its victims… it torments minds and mutilates the souls of good people. If you’re a gossip fire survivor, then you know what I’m talking about.

James 3:5-10 NIV Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.

I think when we all look back over our lives in the end, some of our biggest regrets will be the regrets we have from starting and fueling various gossip fires throughout our years. Even though I’ve been very careful not to do this very often, still it’s happened more than I’d like to admit. The longer I follow Jesus, the less I want to be involved in the charring of innocent victims… and the more I want to sacrifice my life to fight the fires.

Once again, from Proverbs 26:20, “Fire goes out without wood, and quarrels disappear when gossip stops.”

I could write so much more on this topic, but I’d love to hear from you guys today! Please add to my teaching with your brilliant thoughts. I just finished praying for you all. Make this another most triumphant day. 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 Tuesday!

Are you suffering from a peace deficiency today? Losing your mind because of situations beyond your immediate control?

Do you wish things were different? Feel like things are oftentimes moving from bad to worse, like your entire world might be starting to unwind?

Do you find yourself spending more and more time each day begging God to fix more and more broken parts of your life? Or even worse… do you find yourself praying less and less, because you’ve lost confidence in His ability to help?

Chewing off your fingernails? Pulling out your hair? At the brink of tears at least a few times a day?

If this is your predicament, then anxiety has constricted itself around your heart… snuffing out your ability to live in the beauty of now!

Jesus talked to his disciples about anxiety in Matthew 6:25-33. Here’s what he said to them and what He’s saying to us today:

“That is why I [Jesus] tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

“And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

Think about the power of what Jesus is saying here. “These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers…”

I have to admit, that too often in my own life, these things do dominate my thoughts… as if I were an unbeliever.

But I am not an unbeliever! I believe in God! My salvation is not a hoax. On February 17th, 1991 @ 10:45pm, I fully trusted Jesus as my Lord… and I am [still] certain [today] that God, who began the good work within [me], will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. (Philippians 1:6 NLT)

Sometimes, just like everyone else, I forget that God cares about my success more than I do. I forget that He is the Supreme power of the universe… that He is the one who promotes His faithful servants. Sometimes I forget that I have a Father in heaven who loves me with an everlasting love. I forget that He has a trillion ways of fulfilling His promises to me!

We need to trust God with today, tomorrow, and forever! We need to fret less and trust more. With all we have, we have to fight against the fears that come to wipe us out… and we have to remain in the faith that creates our favorable future!

Remember: fear is a force just like faith is a force. Fear is confidence in the devil just like faith is confidence in God. Fear invites destruction just like faith invites the miracles of God Almighty.

Maybe this is why David was so careful to eradicate anxiety from his heart. In Psalm 139:23-24, David says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”

You should do the very same thing today! Locate your fears and eradicate them through prayer! Rediscover that confidence you once had in God. If you do this, I promise, things will start to change in your life. Momentum will start to shift in your favor once again!

I just finished praying for you all. Make this a most triumphant day 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