Pregnant, not married and in bible college

There is beauty in forgiveness and restoration. A major influence in my life spiritually almost never became a minister. This person told me while in Bible College and working a part time ministry, he got his girlfriend pregnant. For some people and places, this would have disqualified this person from ever being in ministry.

The church he worked at was in a dilemma. He was guilty of a sin. During this time it would have been more acceptable to no longer consider for ministry. Rather then ending his ministry career, they chose to give him a second chance.

A second chance is not a free pass. This man was told he was to take a break from ministry, focus on his soon to be wife and child. For several months he worked a job and worked towards getting everything in order. After this time the church allowed him to come back on staff in ministry. He was married, graduated from Bible College, had a beautiful child and went on to have an extremely successful ministry.

Restoration can be life changing. My mentor is still married to this day has beautiful kids that have grown up loving Jesus. I doubt I would be a Christian today without this man in my life. One decision that was made a long time ago had an influence on my salvation. The church had no clue the decision they made to forgive and restore this man led to me accepting Jesus in my life. They had no idea this man would play a big role in me going into ministry. Him and his wife are inspirations to Hailee and I. If we had issues or struggles we could go to this couple for help and guidance.

Good results can happen from restoration. 2 Corinthians 13:11-14…

“Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All God’s people here send their greetings. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

One churches decision to restore one person affected myself and numerous others. Paul ended the book of 2 Corinthians with this scripture. Imagine the effect restoration, peace and encouragement can have on the world? This is what the church is truly for. The church gives us the grace of Jesus, love of God and the close partnership/friendship of the Holy Spirit. We can all have this. Forgiveness even between two people can affect hundreds, thousands and even the world. One person’s restoration brought me to Jesus.

Imagine the difference you can make if you restore, repair and forgive someone in your life? I am not a perfect person. I have needed grace, forgiveness and needed to be restored. The grace of Jesus is a beautiful thing. I am glad this church offered grace and forgiveness because I am a Christian minister as a result. Show grace today.

Have a great day.

Can I be a Christian and continue to struggle with the same sin?

With my blog, I pray before I write something along the lines, “God help me learn more about you and help me share what I have learned with others.”

This sermon by Perry Noble at NewSpring Church is wonderfully done. I have been asked this question multiple times and this was an amazing take on it.

Can we be Christian and struggle with the same sin?

The Sermon starts at about 16 minutes.

http://newspring.cc/watch/you-asked-for-it-2013/can-i-be-a-christian-and-continue-to-struggle-with-the-same-sin

Proverbs 23:18…There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.

Don’t tell your brother to shut up, Just shut up about Jesus and does Tebow ever shut up about Jesus

When one kid is happy another is ticked.

For parents, have you experienced this?

My wife and I were talking last night how hard it is for all three of our kids to be happy at the same time.

It seems like at least one of them is mad about something.

When they are fighting just like when I was a kid, one will get mad at the other one and start yelling.

Shut up or leave me alone is soon to come.

I remember doing it as a kid and now I see my own kids do it.

Telling each other to shut up.

We try to ask them to say it a different way, but it still comes out with the same tone and attitude.

Sometimes the quietness afterwards helps out and other times it does not.

We like to quiet someone else up when they don’t speak about something we like.

We are filled with a world that either loves or hates Tim Tebow.

I have heard people complain about him talking about faith.

This is what Tebow said in an article about his faith…

“If your’re married, and you really love your wife, is it good enough to only say to your wife ‘I love her’ the day you get married? Or should you tell her every single day when you wake up and every opportunity?”

He follows up by saying this…

“My relationship with Jesus Christ is the most important thing in my life.  So any time I get an opportunity to tell him that I love him or given an opportunity to shout him out on national TV, I’m gonna take that opportunity.  And so I look at it as a relationship that I have with Him that I want to give Him the honor and glory anytime I have the opportunity.”

You talk about what you  love?

What does your Facebook say about you today?

If you look back at what you share, what your status updates say and how you comment to other people, what would people say about you?

Tebow wants the world to know how important Jesus is to him.

Is he important to you?

Or is he someone you just don’t want talked about?

In Acts chapter 4, Peter and John just healed the crippled man and now found themselves having to answer to the Supreme Court of religion.

They answered very boldly in Acts 4:12…

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

When the religious leaders got together to talk about the situation, they found out these were normal men speaking at a scholarly level.

They did a miracle and couldn’t prove otherwise.

But they did not want the message of Jesus to spread.

They went back to Peter and John and told them to shut up.

Peter and John spoke boldly in verse 19-20…

“Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God.  For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

The Supreme Court like figures let them go, but threatened them again not to mention the name of Jesus.

Jesus has done so much my life that I cannot deny.

I can honestly say I don’t think I would be married today if it wasn’t for Jesus in my life.

What do you speak up about?

What do you stay silent about?

When you look at Facebook and look at what you have talked about, you can see what is important to you?

Is there something you want to be talking about more?

Is there something you need to be talking about less?

Have a great day.

Sacrifice

A not for me, but for you.

Sacrifice is always an interesting thought.

What we give up for the benefit of others.

Life is full of these moments.

Do we give up studying for going out and having fun?

I remember being in college and my friend Jason and I had a hard exam that we were doing some final studying for.

After a while and our brains being mushed, we called it, realize we weren’t looking that good and started to play video games.

If we would have been studying more, we might have done better on that test, but instead we got a triple double with Kabba in NCAA 2k8 on PlayStation.

Looking back, wasn’t the best decision.

What do we sacrifice for?

Is it worth sacrificing for?

In John 18:14, they talk about a different type of sacrificing…

“Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it would be good if one man died for the people.”

This man was Jesus.

How often do we think of sacrifices outside of ourselves?

We make sacrifices and usually it’s self-centered.

We will sacrifice for what we like to do, but what about for others?

Caiaphas brought up sacrificing.

This is what Jesus did for us, gave up his life so we can have eternal life, when we just have faith in him.

Seems like a bad deal for Jesus.

This would be the worst trade in Fantasy Football history…..

You get…..

Eternal Life.

You give up….

Your sins and have to accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior.

Jesus gets….

Death on the cross

Jesus gives up….

His life for all the sins of every person.

Jesus wants to see faith in him.

He gives up so much more than we are willing to give him.

What’s worth sacrificing for?

Sometimes we make small sacrifices or have a goal it will benefit us later.

Sacrifice is a part of life, are you happy with the sacrifices you make and what you get in return?

Have a great day.