No Probation, Condemnation, or Grudges!

Tuesday, September 25th, 2012 by chuck 8 Comments

God is not like unforgiving, bitter, angry people. He never says no to a humble cry for mercy.

Psalm 30:5 is such a powerful verse in the Bible…

For His [God's] anger lasts only a short time. But His favor is for life. Crying may last for a night, but joy comes with the new day.

His anger lasts only a short time? This is a beautiful thing to know about God.

It means that…

God doesn’t punish people with probation! He doesn’t purge them with condemnation.

God doesn’t hold grudges.

God will never banish you to the dungeons… so you can think about what you’ve done (forever and ever), or pay for every last drop of pain you have caused other people.

God is patient and optimistic about what you can become. He loves you furiously, long before you are truly lovable. It is impossible to fully comprehend.

Mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13).

God’s mercy gives you a second chance. His mercy reaches out to the most undeserving people in the universe.

At one time all of us lived to please our old selves. We gave in to what our bodies and minds wanted. We were sinful from birth like all other people and would suffer from the anger of God. But God had so much loving-kindness. He loved us with such a great love. Even when we were dead because of our sins, He made us alive by what Christ did for us. You have been saved from the punishment of sin by His loving-favor. (Ephesians 2:3-5 NLV)

Please mediate on these verses, read them a few more times, until a light bulb turns on.

I don’t know who I’m writing to this morning. These thoughts are flooding my heart! I feel like I am saving someones LIFE from a paralyzing depression.

If you’ve made big mistakes in life, decide to move on from them. Drop to your knees and pray to God. Sincerely apologize for everything you’ve ever done wrong. Then, believe in the verses above from Ephesians 2:3-5. And remember that God’s anger lasts only a short time. But His favor is for life. Crying may last for the night, but joy comes with the new day.

Focus on God’s mercy, not on the guilt you still feel from yesterday.

Now, you are completely forgiven, and there is HOPE. This is your new day. (smile)

Here is a great song for this message: My Next Breath, by Eddie Kirkland.

Have a beautiful day!

Chuck

Note: Todays image from LivingForJesus.com

Filed Under: Devotion Tagged With: Ephesians2:3-5, forgiveness, James2:13, kindness, love, mercy, patience, Psalm30:5

Journal: God’s Furious Love For Us!

Thursday, April 5th, 2012 by chuck 7 Comments

5:00am Thursday, April 6, 2012

Dear Journal: God loved us before we loved Him. He loves us far more than we can ever love Him. At best, all we really give him is our weak affection. He is the magnetic force that keeps us in His hand. We give him ONE SECOND, and He gives us ETERNITY. This amazing God draws us to Himself and keeps us to Himself forever and ever with His furious love for us! I’m blown away with the thought of this.

To watch this video on the RSS feed, click this link.

Your thoughts?

I just prayed for you all. Have a beautiful day.

Make A Difference,

Chuck

Filed Under: Inspiration, Video Tagged With: forever, Jesus, love

Everyone Needs Mercy

Thursday, February 2nd, 2012 by chuck 8 Comments

Make Me A Legend

Chapter 15: Bow Lower As You Climb Higher

Beware, The Angry Mobs

Every time a high-profile person collapses, I feel their pain like it is happening to my family and me. I am not one to churn out the jokes, or shove the strugglers down to hell. While the newscasters, talk show hosts, and self-righteous church folks mock and jeer and hiss and boo for months to years, I fall down on my face in intercession for these humiliated people and their suffering families. I pray for fallen people, no matter how hideously they have transgressed, oftentimes with a river of tears, that God will bend down in His great mercy and nurse them back to life. In what is thought to be the oldest book of the New Testament, James recorded:

Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:12-13 NIV).

Merciless people outrage me, when they so arrogantly sidestep their own failures to “expose” a broken person. One self-righteous person gets a taste of blood, then another, and a few more—and in a matter of seconds, a mob is formed. It is one of my highest life goals: to never lead an angry mob or join one. I never want there to be any mistake about my position. I will never endorse a mob with my spineless neutrality. If you’re a bully, you’ll be no friend of mine.

I never want to point my finger in judgment when someone is failing. I never want to kick a knocked down person. If I can’t help, then I will pray. I will search the depths of my own heart. In the fear of God, I will keep on telling myself, Chuck, you have no idea what kind of pressure that person was under that led to such a failure. And Chuck, if you even think for a minute this could never happen to you, then think again; you have never known that degree of satanic solicitation, the kind of pressure and erosion that person has faced these past years. Someday, soon enough, you will have your shot. Someday, you will stand on their mountain. In that day, you will see how much more violently the wind blows up there. So, don’t brag because you are doing so well these days. You are just facing a few diaper demons, and look at how easily they still slap you around at times.

God told Jeremiah, “If racing against mere men makes you tired, how will you race against horses? If you stumble and fall on open ground, what will you do in the thickets near the Jordan?” (Jer. 12:5). This is why I hope you will read and re-read Make Me a Legend Chapters 9 and 10 and build your extravagant foundation. This is why you need to grow slowly. You have to master the footmen before graduating to the horses. You have to crawl to each next level on your knees, knowing that it’s violent at the top. If you do not ascend in grace and humility, then you will be crushed with what lies ahead.

I remember so clearly what I was thinking when I wrote these paragraphs. I actually teared up several times, thinking about all of the broken people in our world who in their life’s darkest moments, were kicked down instead of helped up.

Let us decide today, that we will always show mercy. Let’s love the fallen, and be God’s agent of healing several times each week.

Look around, there are broken people in every direction. The modern world has become colder, far more heartless, and judgmental.

This just means that you and I are more needed than ever in our lifetime. We can save lives with God’s love. I’ve done it before, and I bet you have to. People need us to nurse them back to life.

Maybe, you’ve been kicked on the ground for a strand of big mistakes. God wants to bring you back to life. No matter what you’ve done, He wants to show you the depths of His mercy.

This Sunday, at our DFC Vision Twenty12/17 presentation, I will be revealing our 14 Core Values. Here is one of them:

Don’t forget where you came from, everyone needs MERCY.

-Reference: Luke 10:37

Your thoughts?

Here is a great video for this moment. Elevation Worship, All Things New

I just prayed for you, like I do every morning. Have a beautiful day.

With much love,

Chuck

Ps: click here to order your signed copy of Make Me A Legend!

Filed Under: Leadership Tagged With: healing, love, Luke10:37, mercy

Love And Get Loved!

Saturday, June 4th, 2011 by chuck 4 Comments

Happy Saturday!

Life is measured by the condition of our relationships.

You can have possessions and (shallow) popularity, a house and a great career… but without people to share it with, life is…

empty.

You’ve heard the saying, “As long as we have each other, we will make it through this.”

Disaster with faith and companionship is usually an adventure, but a perfect life without the same is always a disaster.

Nothing satisfies the longing of the heart like being in close relationship with God, and in close relationship with caring people.

Life is simple: It’s about the vertical relationship (with God) and horizontal relationships (with people). If you master these two things, you will have a happy future-guaranteed!

Think about this: Whenever you reach impossible situations, you don’t usually need an immediate solution, as long as you have someone to hug… as long as you don’t have to suffer alone.

Here is what King Solomon had to say about the topic…

Ecclesiastes 4:8-12

⁸ There was a man all alone;
he had neither son nor brother.
There was no end to his toil,
yet his eyes were not content with his wealth.
“For whom am I toiling,” he asked,
“and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?”
This too is meaningless—
a miserable business!

⁹ Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor:
¹⁰ If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.
¹¹ Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
¹² Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

I’ve had so many people say to me, “I just can’t help everyone, in fact, I can’t help anyone these days.”

Yes, you can help!

give love.

Listen to the suffering people. Hug them when they cry.

You can turn disasters into adventures! Give the gift of prayer.

Pray together! Face life together! No person suffers alone. No person celebrates victory alone. No person, alone.

Today, I thank God for his love. I feel it always present, like the morning sun that is rising now over my chilly patio. I thank God for my family and friends. I thank God for love, His love and yours!

Today’s photo from sayingimages.com

Have an amazing Weekend! With much love…

Dream Big, Live Bold, and Leave a Legacy,

Chuck Balsamo

Filed Under: Leadership Tagged With: Ecclesiastes, life, love, relationships

We Found the Holy Grail of Unity Established in Love!

Sunday, April 25th, 2010 by chuck 3 Comments

Happy Sunday!

(The message you’re about to read is in my opinion, one of the greatest messages I’ve ever written! It’s MUCH DEEPER than it will seem at a first glance. So, read it several times until touches your life the way it is touching mine right now!)

I’m writing todays blog from home; decided to ride with the rest of my family to church this morning… for Pastor Appreciation Day! I wrote on my facebook status last night: It feels just like Christmas Eve tonight! I’m out of my mind about church at destiny family center tomorrow!

This morning feels like Christmas morning when I was a kid. I always woke up before everyone else, just like today (except for maybe Dave Harman)… and I’m just waiting for the rest of the world to HURRY UP, because it’s “the most wonderful day… of the year!” (lalala!)

I was trying to figure out why I’m so much more hyper about this years celebration than I’ve been in past years. I think it’s because I’m NOT nervous that there might be a single person in my current circle who’s secretly irritated about people honoring my family.

Rose Schleifer sent me a text this morning, asking me if I knew what today was… and I said: I already feel more appreciated than ever in my life and the day hasn’t even started! She replied to me with the following text: I’m glad that you all feel appreciated, cuz not only do we appreciate you, WE LOVE YOU!

LOVE makes the difference! And my family has never felt more genuinely LOVED by any group of people in all our lives!

I had a phenomenal conversation with Emily, Heaven, Cole Moore, and Aaron & Kelli Huffer last night about unity, and the difference between love and hate… here is the thought!

Love is the strongest unifying agent in the universe… but hate is much easier! Therefore, most groups unify around a common hate theme (usually a common hated person). The bad thing for unified haters is that the only way to stay close in a hater circle, is to keep hating. And if the hate victim end up surviving the hate campaign… and he defies all odds to become a much better person… this is not good for the haters, unless they fabricate more reasons to hate… or they finally decide to unify in love! Unity that’s built in LOVE is a much DEEPER unity! Believe me, I’ve been in both circles… and this CIRCLE OF LOVE I belong to right now, is making this moment, one of the greatest moments of my entire life!

So, today is not just about honoring a Pastor and his family… it’s about a UNITY ESTABLISHED IN LOVE! Wooohoooooooooooo! My God, that will preach all day long! lol

Sure, the gifts and the Pastor Appreciation offering are both super fun components of every great Pastor Appreciation day… but, there is NOTHING to be compared with this LEVEL OF LOVE!

Who could have predicted one year ago today, that things would be this great for us? Who could have predicted one year ago today, that we would have a CHURCH FAMILY LIKE THIS! Who could have predicted one year ago today, that there was a LOVE OUT THERE WAITING TO BE EXPERIENCED… a LOVE SO MUCH DEEPER than any of us had ever FATHOMED, even in our wildest dreams!

Back in the 90′s, preachers were saying that IF a church could ever reenact the unity described in the book of Acts chapter 1 and 2, then that church would become identical in EVERY WAY to the very FIRST church… and that NOTHING would be able to prevent such a church from changing the known world!

After preaching thousands of messages on the topic of unity… and never even coming close to producing it, all the preachers eventually moved on to other trending topics. I feel like Indiana Jones right now… like my team of spiritual archeologists JUST FOUND THE HOLY GRAIL OF UNITY ESTABLISHED IN LOVE!

Psalm 133:1 How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity!

John 17:22-24 (Jesus talking) “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!

Ephesians 4:11-13 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

Is this making sense? It’s almost too wonderful for words! Sela!

Here’s a great video clip from Lion King: We Are One!

I’m gonna stop writing now… and get back to praying HUGE BLESSINGS on all of my family and friends… on all of you guys and gals. I LOVE YOU ALL! See some of you in a few hours! Have a most triumphant Sunday!

Dream Big, Live Bold, and Make the Difference!

Chuck

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