"My Space" on the Net

Tonight, on "The Factor" Bill shared a piece about a young girl who had published her own nude picture on her "My Space" sight. He asked his guest if this was really good for the kids or not.

Logo from Myspace.com website

Myspace.com is a free internet site that allows young people fourteen and older to have their own place to communicate with friends. They can limit their circle of friends, but they are in control of their "myspace" site. Bill had a guest who was defending this "as a much safer place than hanging out in town." One comment was that kid's aren't allowed to hang out as much these days because the world is so much more dangerous now.

Like any other public communication tool the internet can be used for good or for evil, but parents need to be aware of what their kids are doing on the internet. How do you know what's happening? Communicate with your kids, and take an active interest in their lives!

Remember that "Myspace" is not only used by kids but by adults as well, and set some guidlines for your children about information "not-to-be-shared" on the internet. In January of this year "Dateline" aired a program that included this statement from Internet lawyer Parry Aftab, "Pedophiles are using all of the social networking sites. And every other anonymous Internet technology to find kids. The social networking sites are where kids are." Like Bill says on the factor, we need to "keep looking out for the kids."

One great way that we can look out for our children is to help them build godly character and values. Those values need to be modeled in front of them. If we compromise on our values then they will feel justified in compromising theirs. Holiness can't be hammered into your children. It must be lived before them. Proverbs 22:6 says,

Train a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Tonight I visited several of our kids' "spaces" and found some interesting things. Some were encouraging and others were challenging. It wasn't hard to find them. I just did a google search.
Some might be critical of this interest I have in our kids. Let them them criticize. We need to just keep loving our kids.

A Word on WednesdayCFA Praise and Worship Team

We recently began opening our Wednesday evening services fifteen minutes earlier with a time of praise and worship before prayer and Bible study. Tonight as we sang the chorus:

I want to be clean. I want to be pure.
I want to be holy. I want to be yours.
Purify me, Jesus. Purify me, Lord.

There was such an awesome awareness of God's presence as we sang. It was more like a praying to music, as the song flowed from our hearts. Then we received a word from the Lord that I want to share with you here. The Lord said to us:

I want purity and holiness from you,
not just an outward holiness for the benefit of others
or because of your sense of responsibility to others,
but true inner holiness that flows out of your passion for me,
a passion that causes you to long for my presence.

God doesn't just ask us to be holy and pure. He commands it! Listen to what He says in Leviticus 11:44-45

I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy,
because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any
creature that moves about on the ground. I am the LORD
who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God;
therefore be holy, because I am holy.

Not only does God give this strong word to the children of Israel in Leviticus, but He also reminds us in the New Testament in Hebrews 12:14 that holiness is not optional!

Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.

Tonight the Lord not only reminded us of this truth, but told us that holiness can flow out of an inner passion for Him. If you're struggling with living the holy life, then I want to encourage you to let God give you a fresh baptism of His love and stir your passion for His presence. Out of that passion you will be empowered to live a pure and holy life. Get ready, now, you are about to experience the awesome holiness of God! Have a blessed day.

Fruit of the SpiritMonnie with Odell and Selva at an Ellijay Apple House

My wife's parent's, Odell and Selva really enjoy visiting the apple houses in Ellijay at harvest time. The apples are great, and the cider is fresh. There are also apple butter and fried apple pies! It's a great family trip. The abundance of apples and apple products on display were evidence of a tremendous amount of work during the harvest season. Their labor was certainly fruitful.

Paul writes to the church at Galatia about another kind of fruit in Galatians 5:22-23:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and
self-control. Against such things there is no law.

God wants our lives to fruitful. In fact the nine spiritual fruit listed in this passage are evidence that the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives. I believe we can ask ourselves some questions that shed light on the work of the Holy Spirit in us.

1- Am I motivated by love for others?
2- Do I demonstrate unshakeable joy regardless of the circumstances?
3- Do others see my inner peace and take courage?
4- Am I longsuffering waiting patiently for results?
5- Do I demonstrate kindness being caring and understanding
toward others?
6- Do I manifest goodness wanting the best for others?
7- Do I demonstrate faithfulness keeping my commitments?
8- Is there gentleness, manifesting strength under control?
9- Do I have self-control being disciplined to attain godly goals?

I think these qualities describe the character of Christ, and the more like Him we become the more we will demontrate the fruit of the Spirit. Let me encourage you to grow in Spirit. Have a blessed day.

Happy Birthday Kel!Old family picure: Top -- John, Rick, and me,
then Mom and Dad with Kel at front and center.

Now here's an old family picture! Mom and Dad with all four of their boys. The birthday boy is front and center. Although he's 36 today, this picture was taken more than thirty years ago. Yes, that's me, the shortest one on the back row and still a teenager in this picture. I thought it my be nice for Kel to remember those days when he was completely free of worry and responsibility. Wow, does childhood ever go flying by. Then, one day you wake up and say, "Man, how did I ever get to be so old?" The describes life this way in James 4:13-14.

Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go
to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business
and make money." Why, you do not even know what will
happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that
appears for a little while and then vanishes.

The fact of life's brevity was never more real to us than at mother's passing, but since then we have been closer than ever before. I have become more thankful every day for my family and especially for the special times we get to share together.

Hey, today I want to encourage you to make a special effort to hug your mom or dad, grandmother or grandfather, wife or husband, or son or daughter. We have no promise of tomorrow, but we are blessed with today!

As I wish my youngest brother a happy 36th birthday and thank God for putting him into my life, I also want to wish you a day filled with God's choice blessings. Once more, Happy Birthday Kel.

No Fear!

Last night after work, I went to Hutchelson Medical Center to visit Walt Lillard. At noon on Tuesday he went thourh surgery to remove a tumor about the size of a grapefruit from his stomach. Chester, Hubert, and I bowed for prayer at my desk on Tueday during the surgery to pray for Walt. The good news is that the surgery went well although Walt is still in ICU and will be in the hospital at least 8 to 12 days. I was impressed last Friday with Walt's courage facing this surgery. He words to me were, "If God wants me, well I guess He can have me." It was the way Walt said it that made an impact. These words were not spoken in fear, but with a resolute calmness that filled us with hope. In the hospital Tuesday night he made another declaration that also inspires hope. He declared, "I love God with all of my heart!"

Once I visited a retired neighbor who had suffered a heart attack and had a near death experience. He asked me, "What could God want with me? What do I have left to give Him?" I responded that all God really wants is our heart! In fact Jesus said that the greatest commandment of all was to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength." Surely when Walt declared that he loved the Lord with all his heart, there was rejoicing in heaven.

Walt has been given tremendous mercy in that his life was not taken in a moment, in an accident or sudden tragedy. God has given him time for reflection, and the good news is that he has called upon the Lord.

Today, if you haven't come to that place in your life where you know for certain that if you were to die today, you would go to heaven, then I want you to be sure. It is my heart's desire that you would receive Christ today and the peace that passes understanding. If Jesus tarries, may you one day walk to eternity's door with No Fear! These word from Psalm 23:4 really leap from the page today.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of
the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

I saw a Witness T-shirt the other day that said it this way. "Know Jesus, No Fear!" That pretty much says it all. Have a courageous day in Christ!

The War Rages On!President Bush at Whitehouse Press Conference

Photo from www.foxnews.com

Today the President passionately defended himself against the liberal critics in the press. When Helen Thomas, the dean of the White House press corps, asked why he wanted to go to war, The president responded passionately that no president wants war! He never wanted war, but he was force to defend our nation after 911 when thousands of innocent Americans were attacked in an act of war. The liberal press needed to to be put in it's place, and in a bold and passionate way, President Bush obliged.

The fact is that the war rages on. This war on terror is an ugly one. Terrorist never play fair, and the president has taken on this horribly wicked enemy. How long must we battle against terrorism? There will be terror as long as evil exists, and those who are just will boldly stand against evil and injustice.

While this costly war rages in Iraq, another war rages on here. The Bible describes our adversary as a roaring lion in 1 Peter 5:8-9.

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls
around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know
that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing
the same kind of sufferings.

There is definitely a spiritual war that rages on. You must know that your enemy wants to devour you. In fact, John describes our enemy as a thief, in John 10:10.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;
I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

As long as there is evil in the world there will be a battle raging for your soul, but John also tells us in 1 John 3:8,

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.

Today you may be in the heat of the battle. You may even feel sometimes as though you are suffering some heavy losses. I want you to remember this promise from 2 Corinthians 10:3-5.

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war
as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not
the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have
divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish
arguments and every pretension that sets itself up
against the knowledge of God, and we take captive
every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

The war rages on, but we are on the right side, and we will prevail, Christ Jesus Himself is the Captain of our salvation. We will overcome! Have a blessed day.

My Father, My FriendMr. John L. Burt, 1939 - 2006

Today I attended funeral services for Mr. John L. Burt. No, Mr. Burt didn't know me, and I probably wouldn't have recognized him had I met him in town. We never really crossed paths very much. Therefore I couldn't say that I knew Mr. Burt, but I know David, his son and my friend. Because I know David, I realized that I know more about Mr. John Burt than I thought. As I listened to all the fine words used to describe the godly character Mr. Burt, I realized that many of these words also described my friend, David. I remember the words of Jesus' proclamation in John 14:6

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me."

Then In the verse 7 He says:

"If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well.
From now on, you do know him and have seen him."

Now I only know Mr. Burt through his son David, and the things he and others told me about him. But I learned enough in just two days to know that he was a prince among men. I came away with admiration and respect for a man who thought more of others than himself and walked in integrity to eternity's doorway without fear.

As I saw the emotion in David's face, it wasn't at all difficult to imagine walking in his shoes today. I knew that he would miss his Dad's visits and greatly feel the void left by Mr. Burt's passing. This was His father and his friend.

As I reflect on these things and meditate on Jesus' words above, I want to encourage you today in your pursuit to know our Heavenly Father. We can know the Father through the Son. We know God because we know His Son, Jesus Christ, and because of all that Jesus told us about His Father. Through Jesus' faithfulness we have seen the faithfulness of the Father. Through Jesus' love, we have come to know th Father's love. In fact according to John 3:16, the Father loved us so much that He sent us His Son, so that we might know His awesome love. Let me encourage you today to draw near to Jesus, and get to know My Father, My Friend, our Heavenly Father, who loves you and cares for you more than you can know.

Excuses, Excuses!Picture from CFA Christmas Banquet 2005

Let me apologize to those of you who are regularly checking my blog. I am not going to make any excuses. As a new grandfather I confess to have Daisy on my mind, and being quite preoccuppied with thoughts of my granddaughter. Of course that's difficult to tell from the last three postings. Then of course there are also these trips to the dentist, now four all together. This time I went in for a root canal, which they couldn't do. The canals in the tooth had narrowed too much through calcification, and after drilling and making his best effort to save the tooth, my dentist finally sectioned it and pulled it. I now have a huge hole where that tooth was, nearly large enough to stick my tongue in and tickle my optic nerve. Well at least I don't have any more worries about that tooth, although the dentist and I are far from through. Besides recovering from oral trauma, I have been working on several other projects including a music video presentation starring my new granddaughter, Daisy, and some other materials for church, including a new video CD to be included in welcome packets for visitors. Well, I said I wasn't going to make excuses, and I hope this doesn't sound like whining, because I really enjoy doing the blog and especially reading the occasional comments.

In Luke 14 Jesus tells the parable of the great banquet. In this parable the host of the banquet receives excuses from invited guests as to why they cannot attend. Look at verse 16-20:

Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great
banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the
banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited,
'Come, for everything is now ready.'
"But they all alike began to make excuses.
The first said, 'I have just bought a field,
and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.' "
Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen,
and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.'
"Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.'

Excuses, Excuses! Notice that when the host found out about all these excuses he became angry. Then he sent out his sevants to invite others including the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame. Hey, I believe there is a message here. God doesn't want our excuses! He simply wants our fellowship. He wants us to join Him and feast at His banquet. the wonderful thing is that we are invited regardless of our limitations or weaknesses. We are invited to share in all that the Lord has provided. If you want to make excuses you will find a wide variety of them to choose from. In fact through the years, the list of excuses has grown quite long, and folks have become quite creative at manufacturing excuses. I wonder, what do we fear? Why do we avoid coming to the Lord's banquet table. He wants to strengthen us and feed us. He wants to prepare us for the awesome work of His Kingdom beyond the fellowship of the banquet table.
Let me close with words from an old hymn of the church.

Jesus has the table spread where the saints of God are fed.
He invites His chosen people, "Come and dine."
You can have your heart's desire, bread and fish upon the fire.
Oh 'tis sweet to sup with Jesus all the time.
"Come and dine" the master calleth, "come and dine."
You can feast at Jesus' table all the time.
He who fed the multitude, turned the water into wine,
to the hungry calleth now, come and dine.

You're invited! You're wanted. The Lord of all creation has invited you to His table. Don't miss it!

A Crown of Glory

My favoite picture of Daisy

Have you ever watched how crazy grown people act around newborn babies? Our voices get very high-pitched. We speak nonesense stringing together syllables that have no meaning whatsoever. Grown men get silly. I know because I have the disease, and when I get to hold my granddaughter, Daisy, oh man, what a thrill! The book of Proverbs descibes grandchildren as our crowning glory in Proverbs 17:6:

Grandchildren are the crowning glory of the aged;
parents are the pride of their children.

One day we know that God is going to give crowns at the judgment of rewards, and we also know that we will cast our crowns at His feet. A crown is given as recognition for excellence. Here in the wisdom of Proverbs we learn that grandchildren are the crowning glory!

Certainly, we rejoice when we become parents, but when we succeed as parents we really crown our children's grandparent's with glory. Our own glorious triumph as parents is evident when our grandchildren follow Christ.

The same is true with our sons and daughters of faith. Discipleship is only successful when those we teach are able to teach others. When we become spiritual grandparents, that is our crowning glory. As Paul wrote to his "son, Timothy," in 2 Timothy 2:1-2:

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
And the things you have heard me say in the presence
of many witnesses entrust to reliable men
who will also be qualified to teach others.

We begin a new and exciting chapter in our lives when we become grandparents, whether by natrual birth or by "new birth" in Christ. Wow, let the glory roll!

Born to Freedom!

Thursday night I was calling my family to announce the birth of my granddaughter, Daisy. When I called my brother Rick in Virginia Beach, he was really excited. He shared with me something about his minister of missions and evangelism, Brother Moses David whose ancestors are from Trinidad. Although Moses is black neither he nor his ancestors were slaves. He was born in freedom!

Now I was born in freedom myself. My dad and mom where Christians and our family has been active in church as far back as I have any remembrance. Likewise my dad and mother have Christian heritages. My wife's parents are Chirsians and both have Christian heritages. Like me, my children were born in freedom. Now as we embark on the voyage of grandparenting I rejoice to proclaim that my granddaughter Daisy was born free! Now, I don't mean by this that we are just automatically Christians because our parents were, but I want you to know that there is an awesome blessing here because the righteousness has an impact on generations. Today I want to encourage you to keep your families in church, walk in faith with them. Don't just talk the talk, but walk the walk. Watch as God raises up godly generations, as your sons and daughters are born free! Born free without the scars nor burdens of the sins of their fathers because they have seen the curse of sin broken.

Perhaps your own heritage is nothing like mine. Perhaps you are the first to break the sin curse in your family. Then I want to encourage you today. You can begin raising up a godly heritage. No matter what your past has been. We have this promise in Romans 5:20.

But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.

God wants to break the curse of sin in your life as you begin to walk in real freedom. This freedom is not for you alone, but also for all those whose lives you will impact. Your freedom may help them to find freedom too. John 8:36 says:

Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

This is not some superficial freedom, but the most intense freedom there could possibly be. It is the superlative of freedom, the freest freedom of all. May you know that freedom today.

Everything's Coming Up Daisy!Jessica and Gareth with Daisy

Crystal and I are now officially Grandparents! Baby Daisy finally arrived, and was she ever worth wait! Daisy Aileen Hocker was born last night March 9th at around 8:15 p.m. She is beautiful, 8 pounds and 5 ounces, and 20 1/2 inches long. Did I say she's beautiful? Well, she is definitely beautiful.

After inducing labor Wednesday night, sometime after midnight, (so it was technically Thurday morning) and waiting through the night and most of the day on Thursday, they told Jessica and Gareth that they might need to be thinking about the possibility of a C-section. Labor just wasn't making progress any more. Gareth called her parents, Eddie and Nora, and Crystal and I into the room to tell us. We gathered around the bed and prayed in agreement. Wow, what an awesome time of prayer! God's presence was in the room, as we prayed in the Spirit, and God's powerful peace could be felt. No progress? Well, after prayer and about 2o minutes, they came to tell us things had moved along quickly, they were going to begin pushing soon. Jessica was going to have her baby!

We thank God for hearing and answering our prayer. There certainly was a lot of agreement in Jessica's room when we prayed together. I am reminded of the promise about praying in agreement in Matthew 18:19-20:

Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree
about anything you ask for, it will be done for you
by my Father in heaven. For where two or three
come together in my name, there am I with them.

As we rejoice today with our new granddaughter, I want to encourage you to cry out to God about your needs. Find others who are passionate about those needs, and pray with them in agreement. Let God give you His peace that flows from His awesome presence, and just watch Him answer your prayers! Have a blessed day!

We c

Waiting on the Lord

It’s almost 1:30 a.m. on March 9, 2006. We are at the Erlanger’s Women’s East Pavilion in East Ridge, Tennesee. Jessica is in the Primrose Suite, the same suite and the same room where Jeffrey was born nine years ago. How amazing is that? Jessica’s parents are here, Eddie and Nora along with her sister Samantha.

I am here against my better judgment will tells me it will be a long wait, but then who knows. I tried to stay home and sleep. I slept for about an hour. Then I woke up and called Crystal to see how things were going. Better judgment lost out. Graham and I joined the rest to wait on Daisy. One of the nurses said that she probably won’t give birth on her shift and she gets off at 7:00 a.m. My better judment was probably right, but here I am, waiting.

One of my favorite Psalms is the 27^th and it comes to mind whenever I must wait, especially the last verse, 14.

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

The psalmist tells us that life brings so many challenges. We face anxious and fearful times. There are often both internal and external conflicts. At times even tensions from those closest to us, as the Psalmist says in verse 10, even “my father and mother.” Sometimes we are tempted to take matters into our own hands and wrench justice from the circumstances. We often think that through the sheer force of our own will and determination, we will take care of it ourserlf. Usually when I take matters into my own hands and try to force things to happen on my time time table, it just makes matters worse.

The message here is about faith and trusting God. We need to remember that He knows and He cares. Therefore, we can trust Him! The prophet Isaiah says this about those who wait on the Lord in Isaiah 40:31:

But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

Wow, what blessings for those who wait. I am believing that if we wait this out here with Gareth and Jessica, we are going to see a miraculous blessing. I also believe that you God has a blessing for you if you will wait on Him. May He renew your strength today.

A Game of Chess!

If my daughter-in-law, Jessica, doesn't have her baby today, then tonight after midnight they are planning to induce. Her parents are here from Michigan, and since she and my son, Gareth, will not be at church tonight, I will be helping with our Royal Ranger ministry.

My youngest son, Jeffrey is in that Ranger class and he is working on his chess merit. I like chess well enough, but enjoy playing with my son even more. Still best of all is the wonderful feeling that comes because Jeffrey wants to spend time with his dad. Certainly I will miss the Adult Bible Study class, but I have great expectations about playing chess with Jeffrey. It doesn't matter whether or not I win, either. The time we will have together tonight is what really matters.

Today I want to remind you that our Heavenly Father enjoys spending time with us, too! Just as my heart is warmed by my son's desire to spend time with me, so God the Father's heart is warmed by our genuine desire to be with Him. In fact, if there is anything we really need, it is to enjoy being in His presence. The Psalmist writes in Psalm 37:4

Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

When you learn to enjoy being with your heavenly Father, you can be sure that He will enjoy giving you the desires of your heart. Do you have some special need in your life today? I want to encourage you to draw close to your Heavenly Father, and let Him give you your heart's desire. Have a blessed day!

picture from www.krisgregsonmoss.com

On Friday I wrote about humilty, and if you look back at comment on that day, you will find the following. The writes says:

There is another level to this message about Moses, Aaron,

The Bible records that Moses interceded for them, and especially for Miriam, but again as writer commented on Friday,

before Moses could pray he had to forgive both of them. James 5:16 states “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” There were two healings when Moses prayed that day the first came from forgiving. God healed his wounded spirit. Second is a by-product of the first and Miriam was healed.

Remember the old adage, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me?" The old saying just isn't true. Words can wound so very deeply, and the comment on Friday was right on target.

Words are stronger than deeds many times, because they cause wounds to the heart and spirit of a person.

From the example of Moses we discover this truth and the awesome blessing comes from walking in it.

Learning to walk in forgiveness and love toward each other is one of the hardest most costly lessons. Yet it reaps great rewards.

I want to encourage you today to forgive someone who has wronged you and experience the overwhelming peace and power that is realeased when you do. Have a blessed day.

Moses for Prime Minister!

If the Hebrews had a democratic government there might have been some posters like "Moses for Prime Minister! Vote for Moses!" Maybe his campaign manager would have written a campaign cheer.

Moses, Moses, he's our man. He'll take us to the promised land!

Maybe there would have been a slogan like "Moses Rocks!"

However their government wasn't a democracy. It was a theocracy. God chose Moses to lead them. There was no election! When there was an uprising, God intervened and confirmed his leadership. In Exodus 16, when the people complained that they didn't have meat to eat, God confirmed Moses' leadership by sending quail for them to eat, until it ran out their noses.

In Numbers 16 when more than 250 joined an uprising against Moses, intervened again. This time the earth split open and swallowed them. Finally in Numbers 17 when his brother and sister spoke against Moses, God called a family meeting to reprimand them, and Miriam was struck with leprosy!

Here is something we really need to know. If God has placed you in a place of leadership, then
He is well able to take care of you there. You don't have to win popularity contest. When you have God's vote, that is the majority vote. Let Him defend you today.

Created for His Glory!

There was a place in the tabernacle reserved for the Ark of the Covenant. This place was called the Most Holy Place or the Holy of Holies. It was here that only the High Priest could come, and it was considered so very holy that he came in with a rope around him and bells sewn into the hem of his robe, just in case he should die in there in the Most Holy place. The rope would allow those waiting outside to drag him out with out entering the holiest place of all.

The tabernacle was the temporary place of worship in the wilderness. Finally when the children of Israel entered the promised land, they would worship in the Temple, which had a Most Holy Place just like the tabernacle. Only the high priest could enter this sacred place, and he could never enter without first offering sacrifice. A heavy veil closed this place from the view of all others.

Matthew describes something awesome that happened in the temple in Matthew 27:50-51 when Jesus was crucidfied.

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice,
he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain
of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

God was giving us access to step up to next level in relationship with him. We would no longer need a priest to intercede for us. We were given instant access into the presence of God. We would no longer need another man to intercede for us. That means we no longer have to stop short of experiencing the awesome and holy presence of God. As the tabernacle and the temple where made for relationship with God, we too were created for relationship with God. Isaiah said that we were created for the presence or glory of God in Isaiah 43:7.

"everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made."

I want to encourage you to take it to the next level in your relationship with God. Since Christ has opened up the way for you to enter the holiest place of all and enjoy an awesome relationship with God. Why not to take it to the next level with God today. Have a blessed day.

Oh Lord, It's Hard to be Humble!Mac Davis (picture from www.alanmercer.com)

Oh Lord, it's hard to be humble when you're perfect in every way.
I can't wait to look in the mirror 'cause I get better lookin' each day.

In this day of self assertion humiltiy is not a popular theme. We hear so much more about how important it is to assert ourselves. It is much more popular to look out for number one. We don't hear the message Paul was preaching in Philippians 2:3-4 quite so often anymore.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit,
but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
Each of you should look not only to your own interests,
but also to the interests of others. (NIV)

Paul goes on to tell us in verses 5-8 that this is the attitude that was in Christ our Lord.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality
with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human
likeness. And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself and became obedient to death,
even death on a cross! (NIV)

There are times when the path of humility is difficult to follow. That is especially true when your rightful authority is questioned. Think again of Moses when his leadership was questioned by his brother and sister, Aaron and Miriam. The Bible says in Numbers 12:3:

Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble
than anyone else on the face of the earth. (NIV)

Come on; I know what would go through our minds if we were faced with a circumstance like this. At least I know what I would probably be thinking. "You guys have certainly blown it now! Now you're really going to get it!" Then when judgment came upon them, we'd probably be thinking, "Hey, don't look at me! I warned you. Now, you're getting what you deserve, so don't look to me for pity!" But that's not how Moses responded. In Numbers 12:13 we read:

So Moses cried out to the LORD,
"O God, please heal her!" (NIV)

On other occassions when the Hebrews had rebelled against his leadership he interceded for them, even asking God to blot him out with them in Exodus 32:31-32.

So Moses went back to the LORD and said,
"Oh, what a great sin these people have committed!
They have made themselves gods of gold. But now,
please forgive their sin—but if not,
then blot me out of the book you have written." (NIV)

These people certainly had not honored Moses as God's chosen leader. In fact they had dishonored him as they returned to their old ways.

God always resists the proud according to James 4:6.

That is why Scripture says:
"God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." (NIV)

No, humilty is not the easy way. Like the first line in Mac's song, "Lord, it's hard to be humble." Sure it's not easy, but we can do the best that we can. The high road seldom is an easy road, but it is the right road, if we would be like Chirst. Today, I want to challenge you to humble yourself before God and see what God will do! You will be amazed! James says it this way in James 4:10:

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord,
and he shall lift you up. (KJV)

Hey, Have a blessed day as you let God lift you up today.