Greg Peters Live

As we continue thinking about toiling in the the soil, I thought I would share a post by James MacDonald. James is probably my favorite preacher. He has a way of putting it out there and not holding anything back – love his boldness!

Click here to read his post.

I am currently reading and journaling my way through the book of Daniel and really enjoying my study!  In Chapter 2 Daniel not only interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s dream but he first of all tells him the dream because Neb couldn’t remember it. After God reveals the dream and its intepretation to Daniel, Daniel immediately prays – Daniel 2:20-23. In verse 22 Daniel says, “He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding”. This jumped off the page at me!  God does not waste wisdom on the fool and He does not waste knowledge one those who lack understanding. I am praying for wisdom and understanding – I am seeking wisdom and understanding – I desire wisdom and understanding – I want to position myself for wisdom and understanding. In doing this, I believe that the Lord is then free to give me more wisdom and more knowledge. I can’t see God just continuing to waste wisdom and knowledge on anyone who doesn’t act on it or implement it!

May God help us to increase in wisdom and understanding so that we can “interpret” the hard things in life!

John Piper – We were made for global missions

I know I said I would post waistllines and wallets, but this was too good not to post first. Click on the link below.

Brit Hume on choosing Christ

I have been thinking alot about how we as people really like the Fluff God. If you know me well, you know and have read how I have an appreciation for fluffunutter – the incredibly delicious marshmellowy cream that goes oh so well with peanut butter and two fresh slices of white bread (I can taste it now). Yesterday, when I was at the grocery store I saw a jar of fluff on sale and it just got me thinking again about Fluff God. It is so easy to like Fluff God, He is so sweet and delightful – He is loving, kind, gracious, merciful and even at times thought to be manipulatable and coerceable.  With a Fluff God focus, being all sweet and everything, there is never a mention of things like righteousness, holiness, sin, justice, wrath, condemnation, judgment or the such.

When your God is Fluff God you can:

1. Ignore Him for days on end
2. Read His Word whenever you feel like it and not whenever you don’t
3. Pray in crisis and ignore Him in the good times
4. See what is going on this weekend before you commit to His house
5. Be an undercover disciple – careful, don’t speak of Jesus it might blow your cover
6. Spend your money how you want and toss Him a couple crumbs from time to time and think He is oblivious while you do so
7. Treat your spouse worse than anybody you know and think God is ok with that – after all He knows what a jerk they are
8. Run your mouth about others and in doing so, beat up the bride of Christ
9. Let tv, culture, friends and whatever else raise your kids, while you promote spiritual illiteracy
10. Ignore your beam and focus on your neighbors splinter

The Bible is a book of celebration! Just think of some of the following celebrations:

• The celebration of creation – ponder creation for a moment and it will blow your mind!
• The celebration of God’s flood insurance policy for Noah
• The celebration of a chosen nation, God’s people
• The celebration of Joseph’s life of integrity and subsequent success
• The celebration of the Passover Lamb and the subsequent escape from Egypt
• The celebration of Christ’a amazing birth announced with angelic flair
• The celebration of Christ’s life and ministry
• The celebration of Christ’s triumphant ressurection over death and the devil

There are countless other celebration stories woven through Scripture! All of this just reminds me of the importance of celebration!!! As a husband, dad, pastor, friend and co-worker I want to lead the celebration charge. I don’t know about you, but I sometimes get so busy leading the charge, taking the hill, mapping the path, that I forget to celebrate when we do arrive, conquer and succeed. So allow me a moment to celebrate:

• Denise got the most amazing deal at a yard sale!! No, seriously, I am not kidding! She takes such good care of us and always makes our home everything it should be and her latest bargain was a real blessing to us all!!
• Seth has had a good week at school. Also, on Tuesday night we played two-hand touch football in the street with some other kids and Seth scored 2 touchdowns. That was a huge deal for him!! When you see him, ask him about his touchdowns and watch his face light up.
• This week was Derek’s birthday – alot of people celebrated with him. If you have not told him so, wish him happy birthday and celebrate with him.
• This Sunday night we are having our church wide Thanksgiving dinner. We have over 400 people signed up!! It was John Williams idea – way to go John! We celebrate your success!!!
• This week I said that something BIG was going to happen. Well, it has gotten started but in a less visible fashion at the start – but when it gets more visible in the next few days – look out we are going to Celebrate!
• This coming Saturdey and Sunday is Friend Day – in advance of our church’s success, let’s praise God and celebrate all of our new guests that we will have the honor of hosting this week!!
• Right now, take a real deep breath and celebrate your health!
• Look out the window and celebrate the majesty of your Creator! 

Do you remember the scene from A Few Good Men, where Tom Cruise says, “I want the truth!” and Jack Nicholson yells back, “You can’t handle the truth!”?

Well, that is me. Often times I don’t want the truth and I can’t handle the truth. Seldom am I honest or objective about myself – this is sad. The reason this is sad is because healing (emotional, relational, spiritual, etc) can’t happen apart from honesty. Healing and honesty work in tandem.

Psalm 51:6 says, “You desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place”.

The Lord desires for me to be honest with Him, others and myself. Yet I get defensive, I get deceived, I get distracted, etc. and I miss truth – sometimes intentionally and sometimes unintentionally.

While some of the things I have mentioned can get very discouraging, there are a couple things that encourage me this morning. First, according to Scripture, God desires to give us increased understanding. It is up to you and me to sincerely ask and sincerely seek for truth. Secondly, and I don’t know why I haven’t tapped into this one more, the Spirit of Truth resides in me (John14:16-17). According to our message this passed weekend, He is my possession. Have you ever possessed something and not used it – Hello!  Part of the Holy Spirit’s ministry is to produce honesty and truth within us – when we are yeilded to Him guess what he will do? He will produce honesty and truth!!! This causes me to be hopeful, amazed, thrilled, thankful and grateful! Now I must yeild to this work.

I have also discovered that where I am pushing back on truth is normally the area where I need it most.  Is there an area of your life where you are super sensitive, very defensive or unwilling to listen? Then the problem is, “You can’t handle the truth!”.

If you have no idea what I am talking about – well, Hello Mr. or Mrs. Ostrich, this is sand.

I was reading Proverbs 25:1-2 this morning and want to share what I learned.  I had come across that “heap coals of fire on them” a couple times recently and wasn’t sure what it meant. I didn’t take time to investigate but in my daily reading today the explanation was given. When we give food and water (figuratively speaking) to our enemy, we heap coals of fire on them. Well, during Solomon’s time coals of fire were put on metal to melt the metal. So what he was saying was that when we do good to our enemy we melt their heart.

My thoughts:

• enemy “situations” can be very complicated, yet that is no excuse.
• doing good to them will not be easy, yet that is no excuse.
• I won’t always feel like it, yet that is no excuse.
• It may not melt their heart, yet that is no excuse.

My question – Whose heart do you need to heap some coals on?

Anybody seen the Kingsford?

Do you remember when you were a kid and one of your parets told you that you better knock it off!  Well, based on what I read this morning, you better knock it off before God does. Isaiah 28:1 says, “Woe to the crown of pride..” Isaiah 28 is a Messianic chapter, that is, it is a chapter that is prophetic and speaks to the future, glorious return of Christ. I say glorious – it will be glorious for those who know Him as personal Lord and Savior, not so for those who have rejected His grace, mercy and love.  At the heart of rejecting Christ is PRIDE.  Yet, rather than focus on others and their pride, which is only a sign of my pride, I want to think about where am I proud this morning and confess that area to Christ. I want to confess my pride before He crushes my pride.  Where do you need to acknowledge pride in your life? May we live shattered lives today!