Are You a First Responder?
When I write about a First Responder you probably think I am writing about a fireman or a policeman or woman. Maybe even medic of some sort yeah? Not so much. What I am writing about is a person that needs to know what to do in case of an emergency or in times of distress. That probably means you and me. I hope it does in this case. If you are a First Responder, you will know it. If you aren’t, you may want to become one. It came change your life! It’s not difficult and anyone can become a First Responder.
Most of us have the tendency to try to solve problems and fix things ourselves. If that doesn’t work we ask someone to help us. They may not be able or ready. If all else fails and we get ourselves in real trouble maybe then we will pray about it. I have a great suggestion for you. Why not try praying about EVERYTHING first! Why not pray for help first. God is never too busy. He doesn’t prioritize. He will answer you. It may be on His time table and it may not be the answer you were looking for but, He will answer your prayer in a way that fits His plan for your life.
My prayer for you is that you will become a First Responder today. Right now! Make prayer the first thing you do when you are looking for an answer of any kind. It will give you confidence and assurance that you are not alone. That is if you have faith that He will answer! It works folks. Every time! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. I have learned the hard way to be a First Responder. It took years. Wasted years! I am on board with this one and willing to help anyone that needs it. God will love you for it! Think of this as just another way to grow closer to Him. I know if you use this in your faith journey you will experience a new level of closeness. That excites me! How about you?
In His service,
Ken
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Sunday, March 8, 2009
The Gift
The Gift
Loving someone is a treasure that needs no lock. Love is open, honest and unconditional. It has a way of giving value to someone that may feel worthless. It has a way of give hope to someone that needs constant care. Love is a reminder to a lonely soul that they are not alone. Love is a gift from God that can endure any storm that we are engulfed in. The act of love is an act of giving. One can give without loving but no one can love without giving.
Love can make us laugh at the silliest things and yet, it can make us cry at the thought of its absence. Putting love into words is nearly impossible for some while the mere touch from another can calm us as though God is speaking directly to our heart. Being loved is a living grace that our Lord gives us each day. He loves by his word. He loves us through His actions and He loves us by making us children that are able and wanting to love someone else.
Loving your family or a close friend is easy. It is natural and takes little effort. Walking across the street to meet a stranger in need is an act of love that takes more time and effort. There may be conditions from that stranger that make you uneasy. There may be a less than trusting spirit alive and willing within them to challenge your desire to help. Meeting someone for the first time rarely defines love at first sight. It is often the willingness to look past what is obvious and fix your heart on being a simple light in the dark. Some might say that light is simply the absence of darkness. Love is a light that can remove any darkness. Love is that gift that cannot be measured! Love can endure all things. Love can heal any wound.
Loving is like breathing. When you stop nothing good can happen. I challenge you to completely open your heart to someone everyday. Genuinely care for them with no expectations. Nurture them as if this were their last day. I promise that you will experience a new gift that you may have been taking for granted. I promise you that this gift will grow and flourish as it is truly that gift from God and He wants you to use it and receive His grace. God is good! God is Love! Love on Him. Love thru Him. Love and live in Him.
Loving someone is a treasure that needs no lock. Love is open, honest and unconditional. It has a way of giving value to someone that may feel worthless. It has a way of give hope to someone that needs constant care. Love is a reminder to a lonely soul that they are not alone. Love is a gift from God that can endure any storm that we are engulfed in. The act of love is an act of giving. One can give without loving but no one can love without giving.
Love can make us laugh at the silliest things and yet, it can make us cry at the thought of its absence. Putting love into words is nearly impossible for some while the mere touch from another can calm us as though God is speaking directly to our heart. Being loved is a living grace that our Lord gives us each day. He loves by his word. He loves us through His actions and He loves us by making us children that are able and wanting to love someone else.
Loving your family or a close friend is easy. It is natural and takes little effort. Walking across the street to meet a stranger in need is an act of love that takes more time and effort. There may be conditions from that stranger that make you uneasy. There may be a less than trusting spirit alive and willing within them to challenge your desire to help. Meeting someone for the first time rarely defines love at first sight. It is often the willingness to look past what is obvious and fix your heart on being a simple light in the dark. Some might say that light is simply the absence of darkness. Love is a light that can remove any darkness. Love is that gift that cannot be measured! Love can endure all things. Love can heal any wound.
Loving is like breathing. When you stop nothing good can happen. I challenge you to completely open your heart to someone everyday. Genuinely care for them with no expectations. Nurture them as if this were their last day. I promise that you will experience a new gift that you may have been taking for granted. I promise you that this gift will grow and flourish as it is truly that gift from God and He wants you to use it and receive His grace. God is good! God is Love! Love on Him. Love thru Him. Love and live in Him.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Accepting Christ is Your Choice
Accepting Christ is Your Choice
Have you have ever had an experience where you felt as though you had no control over a situation? Have you ever been so down and depressed that you said to yourself “there must be more to life than this”? Maybe you’ve been at that difficult place where you just felt as though your mind was leaving you, and you were going to crack. In any of these cases it would seem normal, or at least reasonable to contemplate whether God is able to fix things. You may have wondered if there was a way to just know, without getting too involved. Sometimes we are willing to try to make deals with God if he can just get us out of this terrible place. I’m guilty!
There is so much we can learn about God’s love for us and His power to heal us, if we forget about the deal making. We can take a lot of pressure off ourselves if we realize that He loves us and does not expect us to be anywhere near perfection. He owns that category! We can stop trying to reason through our situation with our crude and tiny imaginations. It doesn’t take brain power to accept Christ into your life! It simply takes an honest and willing heart to ask Him to come into your life. That simple request will move you miles from your troubles! This is your first sign of real courage. Just because you cannot get the result you want from every situation in your life doesn’t mean you are a failure. Getting the results you want may take looking at each situation in a different light. Maybe the result you are looking for isn’t the best result for someone else. I have just ventured into a potential problem that we all suffer from, some of us more than others. It’s about me! Guess what? It’s not! The real joy in our life may be one hundred and eighty degrees from focusing on what we can get or what we want. That joy may begin with your choosing to accept Jesus Christ into your life. It is a choice! What that choice says about you is rather simple, but it carries enormous value. When you make a choice to accept Jesus Christ into your life, you begin to bring new meaning into it by changing your focus from you to someone, or something else. This is huge! It is a life-changer! You cannot actively seek Jesus Christ and His meaning for your life without changing the focus from yourself to someone who can use your talent or your love. This is “The Jesus Way”! He was the greatest servant and human to ever walk the planet! He loved and lived with a servant attitude everyday. He cared for all people. He would never turn away from someone in need regardless of His schedule or priorities. This is the way that you and I will slowly become more like Him. With His help we can become more like Him. This means an open and willing acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Savior. This means an open and active relationship with Him through prayer and reading of His word. From there, heaven is the limit!
I pray that you will make the choice to accept Jesus Christ into your life today. Don’t make it complicated. Just do it! It will take a lifetime to really understand all that God has in store for you. Some of you have waited too long to figure this out. That means you should get to the joy of serving Christ ASAP! There are so many blessing on the horizon if you can manage to take a couple of simple steps. I predict your life will begin to have more and more meaning as you take time for Him and His plans for you.
Your spiritual health will be the only thing that matters when there are no answers. You can begin to become spiritually fit in the next few minutes.
It’s your choice!
In His service,
Ken
Have you have ever had an experience where you felt as though you had no control over a situation? Have you ever been so down and depressed that you said to yourself “there must be more to life than this”? Maybe you’ve been at that difficult place where you just felt as though your mind was leaving you, and you were going to crack. In any of these cases it would seem normal, or at least reasonable to contemplate whether God is able to fix things. You may have wondered if there was a way to just know, without getting too involved. Sometimes we are willing to try to make deals with God if he can just get us out of this terrible place. I’m guilty!
There is so much we can learn about God’s love for us and His power to heal us, if we forget about the deal making. We can take a lot of pressure off ourselves if we realize that He loves us and does not expect us to be anywhere near perfection. He owns that category! We can stop trying to reason through our situation with our crude and tiny imaginations. It doesn’t take brain power to accept Christ into your life! It simply takes an honest and willing heart to ask Him to come into your life. That simple request will move you miles from your troubles! This is your first sign of real courage. Just because you cannot get the result you want from every situation in your life doesn’t mean you are a failure. Getting the results you want may take looking at each situation in a different light. Maybe the result you are looking for isn’t the best result for someone else. I have just ventured into a potential problem that we all suffer from, some of us more than others. It’s about me! Guess what? It’s not! The real joy in our life may be one hundred and eighty degrees from focusing on what we can get or what we want. That joy may begin with your choosing to accept Jesus Christ into your life. It is a choice! What that choice says about you is rather simple, but it carries enormous value. When you make a choice to accept Jesus Christ into your life, you begin to bring new meaning into it by changing your focus from you to someone, or something else. This is huge! It is a life-changer! You cannot actively seek Jesus Christ and His meaning for your life without changing the focus from yourself to someone who can use your talent or your love. This is “The Jesus Way”! He was the greatest servant and human to ever walk the planet! He loved and lived with a servant attitude everyday. He cared for all people. He would never turn away from someone in need regardless of His schedule or priorities. This is the way that you and I will slowly become more like Him. With His help we can become more like Him. This means an open and willing acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Savior. This means an open and active relationship with Him through prayer and reading of His word. From there, heaven is the limit!
I pray that you will make the choice to accept Jesus Christ into your life today. Don’t make it complicated. Just do it! It will take a lifetime to really understand all that God has in store for you. Some of you have waited too long to figure this out. That means you should get to the joy of serving Christ ASAP! There are so many blessing on the horizon if you can manage to take a couple of simple steps. I predict your life will begin to have more and more meaning as you take time for Him and His plans for you.
Your spiritual health will be the only thing that matters when there are no answers. You can begin to become spiritually fit in the next few minutes.
It’s your choice!
In His service,
Ken
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Overcoming Fear Through Faith
Overcoming Fear through Faith
Fear is false evidence that appears to be real to us. (Paula White)
The best and most important building block you can have is, believing
that your purpose is God calling you to action by lighting your spirit with joy and excitement!
The second step will be to read scripture that addresses your fear.
The third step will be to pray about what God is asking. Ask Him to address your inner most fears!!
The fourth step is to read your journal that you have been keeping and reinforce your thought process. Your writings are the most passionate thoughts that you have. They are probably the exact thoughts about your purpose and maybe some of your fears about what you’re about to do.
Each and every time you pick up your notes or meet with a mentor, I want you to read some scripture about faith and fear. You will reinforce what is right about what you are doing!
You will know when God timing is right. It will be when you are bored or tired with writing or planning. This may be your hint to start acting. It must feel right and it will. It may not feel perfect at first but the timing will feel right.
The biggest mistake you can make is falling on the devil’s number one weapon. That is, believing for even one moment, that your gift is no big deal, or that you’re calling is not important enough to risk all this work. If you fall for this, you will NEVER realize your purpose and you will never fulfill God’s plan for your life!
You can overcome your fear if you adopt a total commitment to serving the kingdom with whatever you have to offer and whatever lights the fire in your spirit!
Fear is false evidence that appears to be real to us. (Paula White)
The best and most important building block you can have is, believing
that your purpose is God calling you to action by lighting your spirit with joy and excitement!
The second step will be to read scripture that addresses your fear.
The third step will be to pray about what God is asking. Ask Him to address your inner most fears!!
The fourth step is to read your journal that you have been keeping and reinforce your thought process. Your writings are the most passionate thoughts that you have. They are probably the exact thoughts about your purpose and maybe some of your fears about what you’re about to do.
Each and every time you pick up your notes or meet with a mentor, I want you to read some scripture about faith and fear. You will reinforce what is right about what you are doing!
You will know when God timing is right. It will be when you are bored or tired with writing or planning. This may be your hint to start acting. It must feel right and it will. It may not feel perfect at first but the timing will feel right.
The biggest mistake you can make is falling on the devil’s number one weapon. That is, believing for even one moment, that your gift is no big deal, or that you’re calling is not important enough to risk all this work. If you fall for this, you will NEVER realize your purpose and you will never fulfill God’s plan for your life!
You can overcome your fear if you adopt a total commitment to serving the kingdom with whatever you have to offer and whatever lights the fire in your spirit!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
The Hand
The Hand:
From the time we are born a hand has played such an important role in our next step in life. The doctor's hand was the one we all relied upon in our first minutes in this world. From there, our parents seemed to know just when a hand was necessary. It could have been a soft and gentle touch or stiff and corrective pat. A hand is an amazing tool that God gave us. It has virtually unlimited uses! I am convinced that the main use was to offer it to someone or something with the purpose of making things easier or more pleasant.
A simple handshake can tell you much about a person. A soft touch from someone you love can make the worst day seem a little more tolerable. When we are born our hands are so soft and gentle. As we age we gain life's experience and life's trails that can toughen the hand or even callous the hand. This is Gods way of telling the recipient that we've been there and we know what it feels like.
You can have amazing hands! You have been through so much and you know how to use your hands to help someone else. You can touch someone’s heart with your hands in a way that could only come from God through you. This I know!
It is your turn to use your hands! Because you are blessed to have Christ in your life, your hands are full of hope. They will be remarkably capable of making a difference!! Yes, they are weathered from your own life experiences, but they remain gentle and warm as the day you were born. This is not your doing, but non-the-less your hands are now free to use as you see fit. Someone can always use a hand!
My prayer is that you can feel the peace that I feel in my heart when I think about the next life. I will continue to keep my hands open and outreached you, who have made my life so much better. Please use them.
You have made our world a little better. You have used your time to set an example for many. The hand can make all the difference in the world to anyone willing to ask. This includes you! The most exciting part is that God's hand is there for you should you ask. It is that simple!
In Service to the Kingdom,
Ken
From the time we are born a hand has played such an important role in our next step in life. The doctor's hand was the one we all relied upon in our first minutes in this world. From there, our parents seemed to know just when a hand was necessary. It could have been a soft and gentle touch or stiff and corrective pat. A hand is an amazing tool that God gave us. It has virtually unlimited uses! I am convinced that the main use was to offer it to someone or something with the purpose of making things easier or more pleasant.
A simple handshake can tell you much about a person. A soft touch from someone you love can make the worst day seem a little more tolerable. When we are born our hands are so soft and gentle. As we age we gain life's experience and life's trails that can toughen the hand or even callous the hand. This is Gods way of telling the recipient that we've been there and we know what it feels like.
You can have amazing hands! You have been through so much and you know how to use your hands to help someone else. You can touch someone’s heart with your hands in a way that could only come from God through you. This I know!
It is your turn to use your hands! Because you are blessed to have Christ in your life, your hands are full of hope. They will be remarkably capable of making a difference!! Yes, they are weathered from your own life experiences, but they remain gentle and warm as the day you were born. This is not your doing, but non-the-less your hands are now free to use as you see fit. Someone can always use a hand!
My prayer is that you can feel the peace that I feel in my heart when I think about the next life. I will continue to keep my hands open and outreached you, who have made my life so much better. Please use them.
You have made our world a little better. You have used your time to set an example for many. The hand can make all the difference in the world to anyone willing to ask. This includes you! The most exciting part is that God's hand is there for you should you ask. It is that simple!
In Service to the Kingdom,
Ken
Monday, January 5, 2009
Calling All Servants!!!
God didn’t call some of us to serve.
(Romans 12:3-5)
(The Apostle Paul)
As God’s messenger I give you this warning: be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are ALL part of His one body and EACH (not some) of us has different work to do. And since we are ALL one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others. (You simply won’t know how you can make a difference until you do it!) There are people everywhere that can be helped by your God-given gift!!!!!
He wants ALL of us to serve His Kingdom!
(1st Corinthians 12:7) A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means of helping the entire church. It is in our DNA!
We might stop searching or hoping for blessings in our life. God wants us to be a blessing by giving, rather than receiving.
My hope is that you will volunteer where you are needed.
That is always good, but if we are to become an inspirational and exceptional church:
We must search for and find that joy that God put in our hearts.
We must discern “that gift” that raises our pulse and gives us energy.
We must plan, pray and begin taking steps to fulfill our mission to serve.
We must do it for the right reasons.
We must stay in faith and listen to what God is asking of us.
And most important we must serve to glorify His holy name.
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