Looking Higher

Will You Do Your Part?

2011-02-26T14:15:00.003-05:00

I was having a conversation with a friend and we were talking about the global Church. Particularly world evangelism and what we could do about it. Then a great revelation occurred to me during our little chat. This is a big problem no doubt, but it’s not impossible.

Scripture tells us that with GOD nothing is impossible. I believe it’s this kind of childlike faith in GOD that we need especially to witness to a dying world. That’s not all we need but it needs to start there.

Let me move on. As we were talking about this problem I heard in my spirit “remember Nehemiah”. I thought of his story, and what he did. You may be asking how in the world does this relate to world evangelism. Let me explain, we find a beautiful story in Nehemiah 3 about the people rebuilding the walls. What is really neat about this story is the way in which they did this.

28 Above the Horse Gate, the priests made repairs,
each in front of his own house

29 Next to them, Zadok son of Immer made repairs

opposite his house.

Next to him, Shemaiah son of Shekaniah, the guard at the East Gate, made repairs.30 Next to him, Hananiah son of Shelemiah, and Hanun, the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another section. Next to them, Meshullam son of Berekiah made repairs

opposite his living quarters.

What you see above is the idea I want to share with you. Notice how all the families or groups took care of what was in front of him. Don’t misunderstand me either I am totally for world missions and plan to become a missionary. What I am trying to show you is that we need to concentrate on what's in front of us.

The people in Nehemiah’s story were all concerned about the wall as a whole, but they knew they had to take care of their section in order for the wall to stand.

It’s true that Christianity is on the decline, but it’s

OUR

responsibility to see that this trend stops.

On that let me issue you a challenge Church. “I urge you to never give up on winning souls and do your part in world evangelism, and that you have a burning passion for the lost like never before.”

My prayer is that we as the church will pray for the lost, live in unity, and also that the laborers will be plentiful in Jesus name.

Remember nothing is impossible with GOD. We will see this trend reversed if we will RISE UP Church.

RISE UP Church

My dear friends I love you and I ask you to accept this challenge with me. Lets do our part and LOOK HIGHER for help.

Love ya,

Ron

Are You Busy?

2011-02-26T14:15:00.001-05:00

We are all busy, but what are we busy doing? We will see in a moment the story of two people that are both busy.

(Luke 10:38-42 NIV) - As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"41 "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things,42 - but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

As you see the contrast in this story you have Martha and Mary both are busy but only one is busy doing what is “better”.

Martha on one hand who is busy trying to get every thing done for the meal. Then you have Mary who was at the feet of Jesus.

We all lead very busy lives, and as leaders we have a responsibility to the people that follow us. But are we so busy taking care of others we neglect those times when GOD is calling us to do something else.

My pastor calls these times DIVINE INTERRUPTIONS

Are you like Martha, to busy doing “stuff” that she missed her blessing.

Or.

Are you like Mary, soaking up every bit of Jesus that she could.

I want to encourage you leaders out there to really focus on hearing God’s voice in all you do.

We are all very busy but are we “about the Father’s business”

As I leave you, I want you to remember you don’t have to do it alone LOOK HIGHER for help.

love,

Ron

Happy Valentines Day

2011-02-14T23:56:00.001-05:00

I debated whether or not to even write this blog, but I felt like I had to. I woke up this morning with joy in my bones. I mean the kind of joy that makes you want to run or shout. The time my feet hit the floor I knew this day was different. Suddenly I realized it was Valentines Day and I had to give God praise for a beautiful day filled with His LOVE.

On a personal note today I have been engaged for one year to a wonderful lady. So here’s a shout out to my baby girl Kiki Maybin love you darling.

Back to business now, so as I was saying I woke up with an overwhelming sense of joy. The question I kept asking was God why do you choose to love us and bless us so much. I felt in my spirit a gentle whisper from God, I take great joy in you and because of our relationship I choose to bless you.

WOW!!! I know right. Then it occurred to me that God is a big God. So big in fact that He created everything, yet still wants a personal relationship with me and you. So today on Valentines Day if your lonely and need someone to turn to LOOK HIGHER and turn to God.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!!

with love,

Ron

Be A Servant Not A Sitter

2011-02-13T22:37:00.001-05:00

Well it’s been a few days since we have spoken, I have been really tired and busy. This week looks to be another busy one as well.

I am privileged and honored to be a team member on a student ministry team here at Emmanuel College. We are called Safe House Outreach and our ministry is in Downtown Atlanta ministering to the homeless. Now I love everything about college but this is my favorite part, mostly because I get to serve God’s people in a tangible way. I told you all of that to set the stage for what I want to share today with you.

My heart in ministry is geared toward the less fortunate and serving them in whatever capacity I can. Jesus spoke about this in Matthew 25:31-46 and this is the verse that speaks to me

40 "The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'

As Christians we are called to be servants and I want to be the best servant I can be. I often hear people talking about things like “what can you do for me or what will you give me for doing this” … It hurts my heart to hear the Church talk this way Jesus is very clear on this matter it’s about serving others and not about getting “yours”.

This scripture is how I model my life.

26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

If Jesus came to be a servant then we should too and I want my life to be a life of servant hood.

May I encourage you today if you are feeling like you are far from God, or feel like you just need to do something for the lord think simple and get out there and serve God’s people.

I love you in the Lord and remember LOOK HIGHER

With Love,

Ron

From My Perspective

2011-02-09T21:15:00.001-05:00

I recently taught on the subject of perspective and I want to share a part of this with you.

What is perspective?

1. a way of regarding situations, facts, etc., and judging their relative importance 2. the proper or accurate point of view or the ability to see it

Look with me at this story from Luke and I encourage you to read the whole story here

15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them;16 but they were kept from recognizing him

30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them.31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.

Notice how in the story at first they were kept from recognizing Jesus, and then at the end of the day their eyes were opened to the savior. I have a few thoughts to share with you about why they couldn’t see Jesus at first. I pray this will help you to see Jesus or the activity of Jesus in your life.

1) They were not looking for HIM

2) Sometimes we get used to seeing the same things over & over

3) They were to busy focusing on THEIR problems

I have a few pointers to give you to overcome these above mentioned circumstances.I pray this will help you to see Jesus or the activity of Jesus in your life.

1) What we see is not always what we get

2) We need to be ready to see/hear from God

3) Sometimes we need to step back & get a fresh perspective on our situation

4) We have to be in position to see/hear God

As always I love you all and remember to LOOK HIGHER for help.

Love,

Ron

Patience

2011-02-08T14:50:00.003-05:00

PATIENCE Patience patience we all need it, but few master it or even attempt to. I was walking to the library this afternoon when a brisk rush of arctic air hit me. Just as the air hit me a thought did as well. I thought to myself of how I am tired of Winter, and how nice a Summer afternoon would be. As God always does, HE spoke ever so softly to me, and whispered the word patience to me.

Apparently God didn’t like my previous thought. As I chewed on that single word for a moment, a familiar scripture came to mind. I say familiar because this is the verse that was etched on my fathers grave. It was like God was telling me even during the seasons of life especially our Winter to be patient Spring is coming. I feel like HE is saying to us that in the Spring the “thing” that was planted during the Winter will come forth in the Spring of our life.

Psalm 40:1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
he turned to me and heard my cry.

My word for you today is wait patiently on God, and HE will hear your cry. So hold on a little longer for HE is doing a NEW thing in our lives, and remember LOOK HIGHER for help.

with love,
Ron

A simple life pt. 5

2011-02-06T16:56:00.001-05:00

As I was sitting around last night a thought came in my mind. I was pondering on the whole idea of simplifying life and stumbled across a great revelation. It had slipped my mind in earlier post. I guess because it’s like second nature to me. Anyways we as people get so consumed by the hassles of life that we tend to forget about having fun.

CONCEPT # 5: Have fun and enjoy the simple things.

In the Bible we read the very words of Jesus’ you are worried and upset about many things’

Luke 10:38

At the Home of Martha and Mary

38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said.40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"

41 "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things

Just as Mary knew what was important, we know what's more important as well. It wasn’t all the preparation but it was about enjoying the little things in life (though I know Jesus wasn’t little HE sure seemed that way to Martha).

In my life I do get concerned about things but more importantly I focus on Jesus and try to have fun. If I could say only one thing to you it would be to have fun and make the most out of the little things.

As I conclude this blog may I challenge you to simplify life because life is not as hard as we make it out to be and remember to always LOOK HIGHER for help. GOD is faithful!!!!!!

with love,

Ron

A simple life pt. 4

2011-02-05T17:19:00.002-05:00

As I continue this 5 part blog series I want to say thank you to all who read this and/or inspire me. To many names to mention but the one I was inspired the most by was my pastor John Price. I used to blog pretty faithfully until I cam to college. Because of him starting a blog it really challenged me to blog again so here I am. I said that to tell you if you enjoy my blog check out Pastor’s blog and leave him a comment and follow him a true man of God.
Now on with our series A Simple Life. I will review real quick for you and you can always click on the links and go back to read them.
Part 1 we discussed Choosing to cheat
Part 2 we discussed quality not quantity
Part 3 focused on relationships
Today I want to talk about another valuable and real practical concept to keeping life simple. I believe this is what has changed my life the most. Are you sitting down, well hopefully you are because the number one way to make life simpler is to Look Higher. Yes look higher because we cant do it on our own we need God’s help. That’s right all you men out there me included that think we can do it all we can’t we need HIS help. In Psalm 121 scripture tells us that our help comes from the Lord. I realize that some who are reading this may be pastors or Bible scholars but too often that is a bad thing, because we tend to not focus on God in the simple things. I know that sometimes in my life I used to think I had the exclusive to God because I was called to do HIS work…wrong. So no matter who you are Look Higher to Him. He will always show you the way if you will allow HIM.
In my final words I would like to encourage you to stay focused on GOD and LOOK HIGHER for help.
With love ,
Ron

A simple life pt. 3

2011-02-03T11:19:00.001-05:00

I have stated in the two previous blogs some tips I use to keep life simple. In part one I talked about choosing to cheat something in your life to spend more time doing what you love to do. Next in part two I talked about quality not quantity and now in part 3 I want to talk to you about simplifying life by choosing relationships wisely.

I want to apologize for not posting last night but I was extremely tired. So I am going to talk briefly about our relationships and the way they effect our life. Part of a simple life is having those relationships that are life- giving. Also we must be that person who gives life too.

Here is a passage that has really blessed me over the past few hours so take it in and chew on it. I believe this is how we should act as a life-giving friend.

Philippians 2:1-4 If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—2 then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends.3 Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead.4 Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand

Have a great day love,

Ron

A simple life pt.2

2011-02-02T00:16:00.001-05:00

As I said last night I will say it again. How many times do you ever say to yourself I wish I could live a simpler life? I used to ask that all the time & would always come up short on answers. Over the next few days I plan to add a post a day about some of the things I do to simplify life. Tonight I would like to talk about something I do to really simplify my life.

I know sometimes even though we should pray as humans we tend to get busy right? Well I do to and then what happens you say well I will pray in the morning, but the alarm doesn’t go off loud enough and you oversleep. Well then you say I will pray later and on and on it goes. Well I have found that if I will take a few seconds and pray even if it’s while walking it’s still effective. We have been taught the mindset of praying more is better, but I believe it’s about quality and not quantity. I would rather pray for ten minutes with a pure heart than an hour just to fill time. It does not have to be hard it’s the simple things that matter. In my life that’s how I operate I keep a humble heart and don’t worry about legalism.

James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. NIV

http://bible.us/Jas5.16.NIV

Have a blessed day and remember to look higher in your time of need!!

Ron

A simple life

2011-02-01T00:52:00.002-05:00

How many times do you ever say to yourself I wish I could live a simpler life? I used to ask that all the time & would always come up short on answers. Over the next few days I plan to add a post a day about some of the things I do to simplify life. So tonight I plan to share a very simple concept with you I say simple but it will only be simple if you let it.
Brace yourself this is going to floor you but it’s a concept I learned from reading Andy Stanley's book “Choosing To Cheat”. The concept is very simple you must CHEAT yes CHEAT. If you are a busy person like me you get so consumed sometimes that you end up cheating the things that mean the most to you. So whether you choose to or not something is getting cheated. May I offer you some advice those things we stay so focused on will still be there tomorrow so choose what you will cheat. Remember folks when you cant figure it out just LOOK HIGHER.
Psalm 25:1 In you, Lord my God,
I put my trust.
http://bible.us/Ps25.1.NIV
Love, Ron

Looking for strength

2011-01-31T01:03:00.001-05:00

As a new week begins new tasks await. Also with the start of a new week one thinks what will God use me to do this week. Sitting here thinking the same thought my mind wonders off into a biblical story. As I try and imagine the week Jesus had before HE hung on Calvary. Just think with me for a minute about the night in the garden HE knew what HE had to do but still our Lord questioned the father. Jesus said but never the less not my will but YOUR will be done. Now jump back with me to the present time. Just as Jesus said we ought to make that our prayer for this week. Father whatever YOU have in store for me this week let it be YOUR will and not mine. Once again we are left with these little words in our heads “this week I will look higher.

Have a great week and let the JOY OF THE LORD BE YOUR STRENGTH.

Ron

Another Day

2011-01-29T00:53:00.001-05:00

Today was a great day well technically yesterday now. The weekend is here so I’m wondering what should I do in Northeast Georgia. A thought came to my mind maybe I could simplify life this weekend. Another day has come and gone but I must not put too much on my plate or things could get complicated. So as I search my thoughts this one comes to mind LOOK HIGHER and HE will show the way.

Jer. 29;11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. NIV

Just to get going again

2011-01-28T00:44:00.001-05:00

Hey I wanted to say hi to all of my folks out there. It has been a great few months although very busy. So I would like to share a verse with you that would hopefully help you in a time of need.

Psalm 30;5

For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may stay for the night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.

Good night friends God bless

Ron

A Big Lesson In The Big Easy

2010-03-28T09:31:00.001-04:00

I had the privilege of going to New Orleans on a short term mission trip this past week. I learned a few valuable lessons on this trip that I want to pass on to you.

It’s not so much about the what but the why

let me explain this for you I know all this but for some reason I got consumed with the job at hand & forgot somewhat about the reason I was here. Which was to be an ambassador for Christ

Its about the eternal not the temporal

what I mean is the work we done will one day be gone or destroyed again but the eternal is the lives we touched & even the lives of other team members

Even if we don't have everything we want there is someone who is more in need than you

So that is just a few things I brought back from this trip & in the next few lines I will give you a brief summary of our trip.

We left Thursday morning & traveled nearly 12 hours before arriving in New Orleans.. After getting settled in we ate at the best Pizzeria I have ever ate at. Once we got back to the church we went to bed. The next morning got up & left for the orientation one of the vehicles had a flat tire so that put us back a little. Finally we got our job assignments two jobs one was installing some sheetrock in the ceiling we had to finish it to. Its ready to paint now. The other job was laying tile & a few odd tasks in that home. Friday night we went to Bourbon St. & the downtown areas. Saturday night we went to the ninth ward one of the hardest hit areas it is still devastating to see homes still destroyed, vacant lots, torn communities & it’s been 5 years since Katrina. So that's brief but we had fun, worked hard, & left our impression on a city that so desperately needs Jesus.

Oh yeah one more job the girls got to go to was a clean up job but what's so neat was that God showed up & used these girls my fiancé’ included they got to minister to a 72 year old woman who was lonely but still had her joy they laughed together, cried together, they just had church in the middle of the day & really blessed that dear woman who had nothing but God but kept her faith. So it was worth it all for this moment alone.

Thanks for all the prayers & support could not have done this without you.

I will post pictures on here later so until then God bless

WAIT….. DON’T STIR IT UP !!!!

2010-03-16T23:53:00.001-04:00

I have been contemplating this for a few weeks now. Whether or not I should write this. I made up my mind to just do it. If you get offended sorry.

It’s on the subject of when/how to confront someone or something. My pastor always says never make a decision while your in a valley or on top of the mountain. I have used that a lot in my life since hearing it.

My outlook or I guess my personality is always to jump right into things. I suppose that's why I always used to stay into fights in school. Since then I have learned a few valuable lessons I like to call life lessons.

I always like to find some answer in God’s word & believe me everything you come across you can find an answer for in the bible. That’s one reason I waited to post this I had not found that perfect scripture. Until now.

James 1:19-20
Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.
NIV

My problem would always be when it got heated I would just join right in & yell & scream too. Then it hit me one day now just bear with the illustration & hear my heart in this. We have a small house dog that refuses to relieve herself outside. So every day she destroys our carpet.I got tired of picking CRAP up while it was still wet so I thought hey wait for it to dry & you can just pick it up & do whatever with it.

You know it really worked too & did not make near the mess either. So I believe there is a principle here for life.

life's CRAP is going to happen
it’s got to be cleaned up
we can act then or wait
if we act then it will be much messier
if we wait it will be cleaner & less likely leave a stain

You might say well are you sure yelp just used it a few weeks ago worked flawless.

Prov 30:33
33 For as churning the milk produces butter,
and as twisting the nose produces blood,
so stirring up anger produces strife."
NIV

So you see if we will wait & hold our tongue some of life’s problems would not be as bad.

One last thought if you sow bitterness you will also reap bitterness.

Ron

A TRIBUTE TO A TRUE MAN OF GOD

2009-12-15T20:33:00.001-05:00

As I sit hear watching the stories of Oral Roberts I am so overwhelmed with his passion & heart for God’s people. I am writing this with tears of joy on my cheeks. He left behind not only a great legacy but also a great institution in which men & women are still being equipped to minister & lead God’s people.

Prayer, prayer, prayer said Oral Roberts is powerful. As he was speaking about starting Oral Roberts University & especially about the famous prayer tower in the center of the campus.

As he was talking about his T.V. ministry I was thinking what a visionary he was. When no one was wanting to mess with T.V. he jumped on it. Not only did he get on T.V. he got to do a quarterly primetime show. WOW!!

You may be asking why am I doing this #1 I want to show honor to a great man of God #2 I want to reflect on our legacy.

So what are you leaving behind you. Are you leaving a legacy, are you leaving debt, or maybe something else? Will people talk about you after you pass or will you be forgotten in a flash?

A FEW THINGS FOOTBALL

2009-10-19T22:49:00.001-04:00

Well it has been a really bad football year for the University of Georgia. I am not one who talks about this kind of thing much but its looked really bad. On the bright side they won Saturday 34 to 10 against Vanderbilt. I think the biggest reason for the improvement is a few things but the number one reason is Mike Bobo was on the sidelines.

If we win out we could have a 9-3 record & for most teams thats not to bad but at U.G.A. its a poor season.

The Atlanta Falcons on a good note are smoking hot this year one of the reasons why is Tony Gonzalez and Matt Ryan. As well as the defense playing with great balance.

Tattnall County High School my alma marta has a good looking team this year too. They have lost two games but still in the hunt.

I have said what I need to say about football for now. The DAWGS are off this week preparing to whip the Gators on the 31st and they have their hands full but it could happen.

CHURCH (RELIGION) V/S COMMUNITY (RELATIONSHP)

2009-10-08T01:34:00.000-04:00

I have been asked many times why the crude title (church Sucks).

It gets your attention
how man does church really sucks
it’s my blog right

I am a locally licensed minister & I love Jesus with all my heart & I love the church in its purest form. All the things that man has made the church makes me sick. In the New Testament the church was the community. & somewhere down the line man has separated the two.

The two are constantly at war with each other it should never be this way. Lets look at what the bible says about what the church should be.

Act 4:32-35 NIV - All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.

Now you see in the New Testament church they were more concerned about relationship and community than religion or religious activities.(church)

I want to warn you I know the dangers of becoming to social minded and not spiritual minded I know but first and foremost we should be able to build relationships. I dont care how spiritual you are if you cant connect with the people then how will they know how great God is.

I told my girlfriend the other night it’s not the product you sell it’s yourself you sell. If people like you they will listen to you. If you connect with people you must have sold yourself to them first.

If we will make our church community and our community church we will see greater results because of three areas

Unity
unselfishness
more resources

remember the bible said that no needy person was among them

so my prayer is that we will be more community minded or kingdom minded and not just worried about this church or that church but about THE CHURCH

ATLANTA FLOOD & SERVENTHOOD

2009-09-25T20:50:00.001-04:00

Let me start buy saying thanks for your prayers for the Atlanta area as well as for me my friends, Jessica & Garrett who bravely came along with me. We left Thursday morning very early & returned Friday afternoon. I was shocked at how quickly people responded to this situation. Mostly due to the efforts of Shaun King pastor of Courageous church in midtown Atlanta who twittered facebooked and did whatever he could to get people to help.

In this picture Shaun King, Andrew Odom, & myself right after we loaded the truck.

With all that said twitter is the reason I came to Atlanta I knew God was pulling me to come help. I saw Shaun's twitter on the flooding and started watching it closely. Before long he posted that he needed volunteers to help immediately. I jumped on it and in what seemed like a few minutes I was leaving for Atlanta with two friends from church. Actually it was a day & a half before we left.

Now that you know the WHY I will tell you WHAT we did. You know its much better to give than receive & I want to give all I can. You see I haven’t worked in 3 weeks but I knew I had to go . My funds were low but my faith & trust are high. So really we went by faith & just served with all our heart. We sorted clothes, we delivered clothes to a drop off location, we unloaded care packs & anything in between. I am so grateful to God for allowing me this chance to be His hands & feet.

I want to talk about serving for a brief moment serving is not about getting credit, it’s not about self-gain or even to promote your ministry. Serving is about being available, being HUMBLE, and most of all serving is about showing off GOD”S love to others through you. I want show a few pictures to you also in the next few lines and if you want to help here’s HOW

This is in Austell,Ga. where most of the worst damages were. Their is a great pastor in this town who was right in the thick of things half of his congregation lost everything. So pray for this man and his Ewing Road Baptist Church.

I will update you later on this and if you want to go contact me a.s.a.p.

A TIME TO REMEMBER

2009-09-25T07:18:00.001-04:00

I had a great time with my family Saturday night. To often in life we get to busy that we overlook some of the most important events in our life. For to much of my life I was guilty of this as well and it wasn’t until I rededicated my life to JESUS that I began to see this. I cant express to you how much we need to spend quality time with our family. I used to to run in and then right back out the door. Now I will drop whatever I am doing to spend time with them. Even Georgia football the way I see it we only have one family and we only live once.

When we got home last night I was reading in Genesis 31 when Jacob was leaving Laban to go back home and that story intrigues me very much and the more I thought I said what a good illustration for this. He was missing his relatives and God told him to go back where his relatives were at.

I had a real similar situation in my life some years ago and finally I realized that I must take a stand and find my way back to my family. You see since I started this post Atlanta was tragically devastated by the downpour. I am headed to Atlanta right now to help with the relief effort. So you never know when it may be your time so embrace your family and love them with all your heart.

WE are so blessed to have family and if you dont God will be there for you. Our family is our first ministry and if we dont have our family in order how can we bring order to the body.

MOUNTAIN CLIMBING or FREEFALLING

2009-09-18T17:03:00.001-04:00

I am so excited about sharing this with you. You know the whole thing in 2 Corinthians 6:14 about being unequally yoked with unbelievers. Like I said in my last post I have had plenty of time to study and hear from God. I have really got a new perspective on this scripture. I was praying the other day and God began to speak to me about this.

He showed me that being yoked with an unbeliever is a lot like climbing mountains. You see I am not an expert on mountain climbing and have never done it, but I do have common sense. We think of mountain climbing as so many things but not many of us think about it like this. The whole concept is you take two people climbing mountains both are amateurs, but one is just a little more athletic. Say they made it about halfway up when the lesser one began to slip. Right then the athletic one rushed down to help the other.

I have a very vivid imagination so bare with me for a minute.right at this moment it is a very crucial time. During all this God showed me that this is like our life and being the stronger Christian if we reach out to the lesser one then we put ourselves in danger. Just think about this if you reach out to help this one is it easier to pull someone weaker up or is it easier for someone weaker to pull you down. Well most of the time the weaker one will pull you down every once in a while though you might pull them up.

So we have a choice to make if we are to fellowship with unbelievers . Either we become MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS or FREEFALLERS.

I have one more thing to talk about and its on the same subject. When you are pulled down you fall 90 miles an hour but when you climb back up after falling it’s a long slow process. So at all cost try to avoid being pulled down and if you have fell down already keep on inching uphill you'll make it. I did and you will too.

God’s Direction For You

2009-09-18T01:59:00.001-04:00

i know it’s been a little while since I have blogged. My apologies to my followers I would like to share a piece of my heart with you. As always I encourage your comments this is intended to be an interactive site for you.

I have had some free time lately and really been hearing from God. You know how we all get to thinking that we have it all together and that we know what’s best for us. Well you’re not alone Lot did the same thing in Genesis 19:17-38 . You see just like you and me Lot THOUGHT he knew what was best and it turned out to be one big mess.

I know that if we will stay in a relationship with our heavenly father our direction in life will be much clearer. In Ps. 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. Knowing this we should stay in the word (logos and rhēma) which is the written word and the spoken word.

One more thing to look at in lot’s story the very place God tried to send him he ended up there anyhow. With that in mind we should be obedient from the beginning and just maybe our lives could be that much simpler. So many times we get ourselves into things that God never intended for us to go through.

As I wrap this up I want to share three things with you

Stay connected to God
Listen to HIS voice
obey God

If we will do these things and of course other things our walk with God and our quality of life will both be better.

UNITY IN THE BODY

2009-08-19T13:09:00.000-04:00

Last night I got to be part of something truly amazing. It was not a miracle or it wasn't even unthinkable but it just does not happen much. OK OK you say well what is it Ron. Two local churches got together last night and decided to combine their resources to reach our community. I am sorry actually it was three churches. My church the Believers church & Place of Grace. During our meeting we had some great discussions and really worked as a team. That got me to thinking about how powerful the BODY would be if we would have the same mission in life. Jesus said that we should go and make disciples of all nations. I tell you what would it look like if we truly was the body. Just say one church does food banks well another does a clothing ministry well, and say still another church they really help the elderly out. OK but what if the church with the food bank tried to clothe the people too instead doing their part. Remember the body the foot needs the leg the hip needs the torso and so on we work together to function as a true unit. So as we walk by faith in this area it will have some growing pains but also we will have some great benefits as well. Who knows maybe we will inspire other churches to join us and lets blow this thing up and reach the lost for Christ. as I am getting ready to close I want to share a scripture with you Eccl 4:12 12 And one standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer; three is even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. TLB this came to me about a year ago God showed me a rope in my minds eye and it was hard to break it. Not knowing at that time it was scriptural. So heres my final thought other churches are not competition but covenant partners

Authority v/s Pride

2009-04-29T13:20:00.000-04:00

Let me start by saying that the Bible is the number one authority that we as Christians live by. I was talking with my grandpa today and was just joking with him, I asked him did he believe that the Bible have any authority. He kinda mumbled for a minute and then I told him I said you know an officer has authority because of his/her uniform just like the Bible has authority because of its editor (God). Then came a few amazing minutes of conversation together. He stated that we have got so many crazy laws and its just hard for them to be any authority to anyone. Then I stopped him (and now you must know my grandfather to appreciate this) I said you know it's not the laws that you dont agree with it's the authority of the officers you dont believe in. Then I went on to say most people believe in the Bible but they really struggle with it's authority. And for that matter it goes deeper than that it really boils down to this " most people dont truly believe in God or to put it another way the dont believe God because even the devil believes in God" So with all that said I began to look at a few things and soon started to see that mostly it was our pride that hinders use from recognizing the Bible or any other thing as an authority or having authority so examine yourselves daily by the word to show yourselves approved and remember the Bible is the number one authority that we as Christians live by.

Love In The Streets Like You Do In The Church

2009-04-25T14:55:00.000-04:00

I am pretty new to this sorta thing but hey God has given us a platform to stand on and speak the truth. I want to talk today about a serious issue in most if not all churches. If this doesn't apply to you I'm sorry you know what they say one bad apple spoils the bag right? In the local church we have a very big problem with retaining people. I know there is several reasons for this nasty habit in our churches but I would like to focus on one area. Let me take a few minutes to set up this scenario. Just say someone in your church had enough boldness to go and witness to someone and they actually came to church. That's great right unless you are not ready to receive them. I know at our church one of the best things we do is greet our guest and we set aside about ten minutes of our service each week just for this reason. OK back to my scenario here and when that person came to church we greeted them at the door and in service and really put on our best christian face. Well thats all good but you see next is the real problem and this is what I want to talk about church is over and you greet the same individual bye and they go on about their business. Then lets say on like Tuesday you see them at the store or whatever and dont even as much look their way. Let me be the first to tell you that you are wrong and are a hypocrite in it's worst form.Because they are looking for someone to connect with and someone from the church exspecially and you just turn your back on them. Its like as long as we are in church it's fine to be seen with this person but in the general public it is a no no to even talk to this person. Let me tell you that is so far from the Bible because it is God's will that all be saved and acting like this is no way to get them saved. So I am going to close this way if you have trouble talking to some people in public because of what others might say or whatever your reason is that is very dangerous to you and the church as a whole. I know because I have been on the other side of this in my life I could not stand coming to church with my grandma because all those so called Christian's would just eat me up to my face and in public would not even speak to me and I was like well if they are like that I dont want to be one of those people. So let me end like this as I started seeking God in my life I decided not to base it on other Christian's lives but I began to search out the truth for myself in God's word and soon I realized that nothing shameful or anything like it was of God so examine CHRIST and not Christians to see what we should look like. And remember it's about a relationship not a religon!!!

My First Blog

2009-04-17T02:19:00.000-04:00

Ok I just wanted to start off by saying it is awesome to be able to share my thoughts on the web so my first post is just an introduction my name is Ron and I am currently seeking my pastoral license to preach and that is about what my life is a life devoted to spreading the gospel to the world and serving my lord as long as I live in the next few days I will be posting a few thoughts on how we should treat people in church but more importantly out of church stay tuned!!!