Archive for June, 2009

Well today was a very long day that started early at 3:00am and did not end until now…around 9:00pm CST.  It consisted of 2 different flights and a lot of waiting and sitting.  However we finally arrived and are ready to crash.  After a small orientation and tour we settled in for a meal and a time of devotion.  What a joy it was to be in a place that God is obviously working.  I will post more when I get time tomorrow.  Here is a little glimpse into our trip!!

Over 90 years ago a man by the name of Oswald Chambers went to be with the Lord but his writings are still making an impact today.  During my devotion time today I read one of his daily devotion writings and it made this statement.

“We are not meant to be seen as God’s perfect, bright-shining examples, but to be seen as the everyday essence of ordinary life exhibiting the miracle of His grace.”

And I can say that I have honestly seen this.  I was privileged enough to watch 7 other men examine their hearts before God and confess, repent, and rejoice in the Glory of God.  To watch them not only state their faith and beliefs but be men enough to live their faith and beliefs.  To confront those who had hurt them and ask forgiveness from those that they themselves had hurt.  I don’t know a lot in this world but  I do know that God was pleased with what went on in that room.  They were the everyday essence of ordinary life exhibiting the miracle of His grace!  I thank them for their forgiveness and love in my own shortcomings and wrong doings.   And I look forward to the future and what God has in store for His church.

God Bless ~ Tyler

I have a question for all of the believers in Christ.  Are you putting Him first?  Seems like a very simple question right?  Well it is not, we as Christians fall into the trap of “doing” all of this religious stuff that we feel has to be done to stay righteous instead of allowing Christ to be first and allowing Him to live through us.  We need to constantly remind ourselves of the apostolic teachings (as we are told in Titus 2:1) and hold fast to those “sound words” for this is the only way that we are going to be able to fulfill the great commission that Christ gave.

We need to take the time as the body of Christ and ask…”Is this about Jesus”.  We have so many ministries that we are burning out Christians left and right to the point that we are forgetting to evanglize our sphere of influence.   We as Christians should be asking ourselves constantly “Is this about Jesus?”.  We as the church need to remember that every ministry that we have should be discipling or evangelizing or both.  If it is not doing one of these 2 things then it needs to stop so that we as the Church can be focused on what it is we are called to do.  And that is to point everything to Christ.  So I ask you again, Are you putting Jesus first?

God Bless ~ Tyler

So now we get to the hardest part of this series.  Some of you may have read yesterdays’ blog and said well that is great and I know that.  And my question to you is do you know it in your heart?  It is very easy for us as Christians to hear things on Sunday and go yea I know that, but in reality only know it in our heads and not our hearts.  So today I bring you some more scripture that points us in the direction on the fact that as Paul said we are “eartly vessels”  or in other words we are containers for God.  In Jeremiah we read:

^{Jeremiah 18:1-6
1}The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: ²“Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” ³So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. ⁴And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.

 ⁵Then the word of the LORD came to me: ⁶“O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the LORD.  Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.

See here in Jeremiah the Lord is showing Jeremiah that we are the potters clay in that what we are made into is determined by God.  And we are simply to be His container no matter what that looks like.  We might be a fancy vase or an everyday water jug, none the less we are a container.  So we must make sure that we are taking ourselves out of the way and putting “Us” on the shelf because the container never provides nutrients only that which is  inside the container does.  Hence we can do nothing for ourselves only God that lives in us as a vessel can affect our lives and the lives of the people around us.  So as a christian to impact the lost for Christ we must not show us living the Christian life but better yet show the lost Christ living through us.  That is what makes the impact on someones life. 

God Bless ~ Tyler