Are You Anxious?

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes...?  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:25, 33-34)

What is consuming your thought these days? What is it that you seem to be focused on? What is it that you are fearful that He may not provide? You might say, “I’m just being cautious,” but are you? What does your heart reveal?

I had only recently convinced Alice to join me in planting a church in the interior of Alaska.  A land of long,

Village Preaching

dark winters, and temperatures down to -60F; not to mention the hordes of mosquitoes in the summer.  In 2001, I received an email from a gentleman in India asking that I come and preach to his people.  My first thought was of Paul’s Macedonian call written about in Acts 16:9.  I told Alice about the email, and she freaked out.  She said, “India!  I don’t go to third world countries.  There’s disease, and unbearable poverty, and I won’t be able to help.  And besides, it’s probably just a scam anyway!” 

After she calmed down, I suggested she allow me to email him back for more information.  So, after much prayer, many letters and phone calls, and two years later, she finally gave in and we boarded a plane on our first trip to the sub-continent of exotic India.   

Some people are so fearful, so anxious that they never go anywhere or do anything. Others are constantly on the move because they are afraid of staying still, fearful that they might miss something. You would think that those who have decided to go on a mission trip would be people of faith and not the anxious type.

But let me tell you something, the groups that I have led and been a part of are usually divided in equal parts: half filled with faith and half that are filled with fear. I don’t know which would best describe you, but if you are of the faith group then strengthen those that are weak. If you are of the fearful group, then get close to those who are not and listen to the words of the One who is constantly saying “Fear not!” 

The fact that God is often saying, “Fear not,” means that He doesn’t abandon the fearful. Instead He calls them to go deeper and farther with Him. He invites them to join Him in a journey that He knows is fearful to them. He doesn’t tell them to stay home, but invites them to come along.

Praying with Lepers

Walking with Him in a journey like this has a way of turning people that are generally anxious and fearful into people of faith.  During that first trip to India, God captured our hearts for the Indian people, and we began a ten year ministry which included the founding of a new mission organization: Asia International Mission.   

May this be said of you, and may it be evident in your life today. 

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 4:6, 7)

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Are You Prepared For The Judgement Day?

Did you know that, "...it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many..." (Hebrew 9:27:28a)

And did you know that if you have not been willing to turn away from your sins (repent), or put your faith in Jesus Christ and confess Him before others, then you will not make it to heaven.
Mark 16:9 teaches us that, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned."

The final judgement will come when we stand before God and He asks, “Why should I let you in?” On our own, we cannot pass through into heaven.

Scripture tells us that, "There is no one righteous, not even one..." (Ro 3:10) And that, "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away." (Isaiah 64:6)

All our creative attempts to earn eternal life will fall far short.

We need Jesus!

1 John 1:8, 9 tells us, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Solomon wisely wrote, "There is a time for everything." (Ecclesiastes 3:1) And with that in mind my friend, may I encourage you to realize that now is the time to ask for God's mercy. We are still living in a day where your request can receive mercy and forgiveness. The time is coming, however, when each one of us will come before the Judge. And on that day, those without the righteousness of Christ to cover them will no longer have the opportunity to accept Jesus and receive mercy.

If you would like to talk more, please contact me!

Hillsong - Beneath the Waters (I will Rise)

Heart Disease

“Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the desert…”

(Psalm 95:6-8)

In 1999, doctors inserted a stent into my Left Anterior Descending artery, also known as LAD.  Stents are used to open up blocked arteries in patients with cardiovascular disease.  The procedure went very well, and I was hoping this would be the last.  Yet, it was not to be.   This past September, cardiovascular disease once more reared its ugly head, and I was rushed to the Oklahoma Heart Hospital.   And once again, God was with me, as my doctor completed a triple bypass after 5 hours of surgery. 

Medical professionals estimate there are approximately 80 million people in the US with some form of heart disease, and 720,000 die every year as a result.  Yet, there is something just as lethal threatening your spiritual life.  It’s a blockage in your vital relationship with God that the Bible calls “hardheartedness.”  Psalm 95:7, 8 says, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”

My heart is hardened when I stick my fingers in my ears and refuse to respond to God’s promptings to change a specific area in my life.  It happens when He wants me to thank Him for something, but I’m silent.  I’m hardhearted when the Lord presses in closer to show me a bigger plan for my life, but I push Him away.  “No further, God. You’re just asking too much right now.”  In a word, we harden our hearts not when we sin, but when we won’t let God deal with us about our sin.

We all have little tricks to justify our lack of response to God. One common way is procrastination, “tomorrow, God.”  Yet, if God could do in our lives all the things that we’ve already surrendered to Him, our lives would be on fire. Is this true for you? Are you still battling with God about something you gave over to Him years ago?

You may ask, “How do I know if I’m in trouble?”  What does a hard heart feel like? That’s the scary part. It may be painful in the early stages, when God is convicting you of what He wants to change. And then slowly, even undetectable, you stop feeling anything prompted by the Lord—hardheartedness has set in.

If you’re like me, you’re ready for the remedy. It’s simply this: Today, do something about your heart. Right now, open your Bible to Psalm 95:6-8 and read it.  We never want to be far from the reality that the condition of our heart is our responsibility.

In the most loving and urgent way I know how, I extend to you God’s invitation to draw near. It may be painful at first, but allow Him to do a work in you, and heal your "hard heart."  Today, if you hear His voice, respond.


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