Lucky or Good

I heard a story the other day about a golfer named Gary Player. I may have a few of the details messed up but the point is still good. The story goes like this. Gary Player is a professional golfer who was smaller than the other elite golfers but he was able to compete and win against the other players. One day he hit a hole in one and the reporter said to Gary, " boy that was a lucky shot." Gary said back to him, "It seems like the harder I practice the luckier I get."

Gary was able to beat his competition because he worked hard and tirelessly practiced to become his best. He was an excellent golfer. People who are excellent tend to be in the right place at the right time, they tend to see opportunities, they make the contacts and so on.

Is it lucky or good? I think it is good effort, being your best, living with excellence and doing it all to glorify God. People who live like this will gravitate to the top.

Colossians 3:23 "whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men." (NKJV)

The verse says to do what you are going to do, heartily. In other words, whatever it is you are going to do, as long as it glorifies God then do it with excellence. Put your heart into it.

If you and I will do this then we might hear people say, "You're really lucky, good things just seem to come your way." Inside, you will know it wasn't luck.

God Heals

Thank you to all that have prayed for me this week.

James 5:16-17 (New Living Translation)
The earnest (or serious) prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results.

God strengthened me to be able to preach today as well as hold a baptism service at Wrightsville Beach. Can you beleive that on Oct. 21 the water was still warm? I love Wilmington, NC!

Are you going through something that you would like prayer. Post your prayer request on this bolg this week and I and others will pray for you. God bless.

Sickness Stinks

At church I have been preaching about a Greek word "Soozoo." Soozoo means salvation from sin, sickness, destruction and bondages.

Matthew 1:21She will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save (soozoo) his people from their sins."

What a wonderful God we serve. All right, I have been preaching that as Christians we have been given so much, including supernatural healing of our bodies. Everyone has been excited as we have been praying for people to be healed but wait… this week I get sick! Sickness stinks! I haven’t been sick for over 10 or 15 years and now I am laid out on a couch for four days. I went to the doctor and he told me it wasn’t anything major. I began reminding God of my sermon and asking for Him to heal me. Well four days later I’m still sick. So what’s the deal?

1. First of all, we live in a fallen world and in a fallen world it includes sickness.
2. The fact is, I am getting better and as the doctor said, “No major stuff is wrong with me.” That’s a God thing!
3. God is still God regardless of how He chooses to heal me. I will continually believe that He is the one that gives me health.
4. The enemy wants to discourage me from a timely message. It won’t work. I will press on in faith!

Do you feel like your prayers are not getting answered? Here is a key worth remembering. Don’t give up! Persevere, press on, and keep the faith.

In closing, I would appreciate your prayers tonight. My healing is on the way.

Good Advice

This is some good advice from Will Rogers.

1. Never slap a man who’s chewing tobacco.
2. Never kick a cow chip on a hot day.
3. There are 2 theories to arguing with a woman…neither works.
4. Never miss a good chance to shut up.
5. Always drink upstream from the herd.
6. If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.
7. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it and put it back in your pocket.
8. Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.
9. If you’re ridin’ ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it’s still there.
10. Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier’n puttin’ it back.
11. AND FINALLY – After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him….The moral: When you’re full of bull, keep your mouth shut!

It's Not About Me

It’s not about me.

I realize this phrase has become popular due to the bestselling book, “Purpose driven life” by Rick Warren, but I felt like it is worth repeating in context of being a Senior Pastor of a healthy growing church. Any person with a heartbeat would feel a sense of pull towards self promotion in the church setting, especially as a Senior Pastor. The enemy would love to get me sidetracked with a prideful attitude. Also, the enemy would love to get people to believe that the leader is a superstar or a type of rock star. As I read 2 Kings 5: 8-12, I was reminded of the phrase, “It’s not about me.”

Elisha, a true prophet, had a ministry that lasted over 50 years, did many miracles and impacted four nations with his ministry yet maintained integrity. It was still not all about him, he shared ministry with others.

I love the story in 2 Kings. A man named Naaman who was sick with leprosy came to Elisha for healing. Elisha sent his servant to do the ministry. Unfortunately for Naaman, he was looking for a man with a rock star attitude who would never miss a chance to be the miracle worker. But not Elisha, he killed the idolization of the minister by sending his servant.

Elisha is a good example of giving away ministry to others and not letting your ministry become all about you. The bottom line… it is all about God!

Waiting on God's Wisdom

In a fast passed world, waiting isn’t our strongest trait. But I’m learning. At our church or any church for that matter, decisions and choices come by the minute, some small and some more significant. One of the more significant decisions for us is going to be relocating our church to a new building. The good news is we are outgrowing our current facility. My first response is to fly right into action, after all the sign of a good leader is the “get ‘r done” attitude. Here is what God led me to today.

Acts 1:4 "Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you what he promised. NLT

I felt God speaking to me concerning our church. He said, “Don’t leave until I send you.” This verse was speaking about the promise of the Father, The Holy Spirit. But I felt like it was speaking to me about waiting until I had His wisdom for the next step in His plan for us. The disciples knew how to wait… they gathered together and prayed.

My prayer, “God I will wait for your wisdom.”

Wash Up

Recently, I visited the men's room at Oh Charley's restaurant and noticed a man who used the facilities but walked out the door without washing his hands. There really isn't anything spiritual here today but I would like to say, "Come on man, wash up." In some tests, it has been proven that there are more than 2 million bacteria per square inch in a restroom. I hope this man wasn't eating finger licking good chicken wings for dinner.