Priorities

Every day each of us wakes up and finds ourselves with a new opportunity to serve the King of the universe. I know that most of the time it may be difficult to see it that way when we have schedules to keep, bills to pay, people to see, etc., but the fact remains that all the while we go about our daily routine, there is a bigger picture in this thing called life that we need to keep in focus. When we were born into the family of God, we were also given a high calling, which is far above anything else we may aspire to achieve. Though we could climb the highest pinnacle of success in this life, if we put that first in our affections, we will fail to fulfill our God-given purpose to represent the gospel of Jesus Christ to a fallen creation.
What do you wake up and think about every day? Work? Vacation? Money? Hobbies? Are you thankful that the Lord has given you another day? Starting out with this attitude is a great reminder and motivator for spending your time and resources wisely for the Kingdom. Are you making the most out of every opportunity to serve the living God?
His rewards will far outweigh anything the world has to offer. Jesus instructed us to build up for ourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not corrupt. If Jesus taught us to do it, then I would submit to you that it is quite legitimate to do so. In all your decision making, keep eternity in mind. In your spending habits, consider the long term rewards in what you are doing. How and where you spend your time should be governed by a heart that is completely consumed by wanting to live for the glory of God.
If you're anything like me, and you have some things to talk to the Lord about, just speak to Him as a child would speak to their parent. If your not all that fired up about change, then ask the Lord to change your heart. Confess any sins, and take God at His word that you are forgiven, then let the joy of knowing your sins are forgiven and that your name is written in heaven motivate you into service.
Tell others about the amazing gift of life that God has provided in Jesus Christ. See you on the streets!!

Prayer Request

Well, a few months ago I was beginning to plan a trip back to India in April or May, but things did not work out. That's alright. The Lord is still working through the cell-phone ministry and people are being saved. Its hard to believe its already been two years since we were there.
Dr Kumar is anxiously awaiting for us to return. He begs Joel and I weekly to tell him when we will be coming to preach.
Part of the reason it wasn't going to work this spring is that it is exam time for the students and also pastor Caleb is here in the US right now. It would be difficult to plan for crusades while he is busy travelling. He has asked that we make plans for Sept-Oct.
I'm sure this would also work for Dr Kumar in Rajahmundry. So, I am asking for you all to pray that the Lord will open doors of opportunity to make it happen.
I would like to spend two weeks there. One week in Chennai, and a second in Rajahmundry. It will be difficult to raise funds in these economic times we are in, but if the Lord is behind it, there will be no issues.
Please pray that He will give me wisdom in planning this mission trip. I am thinking that we will start raising funds as soon as possible. Hopefully I can think of some creative ways to make money, and also, hopefully there will be believers who are willing to support this great ministry.
Most of you know how to contact me if you are interested in helping out.
There has been incredible fruit coming out of the first trip there. Thousands responded at the altar calls, and now, because of the first trip, we have an ongoing ministry through the cell-phone that has been a great encouragement not only to the hearers of teh gospel, but also to believers here at home.
I believe the Lord can and will do wonderful things through a return trip, and I'm excited to see how He paves the way for the next one.
Thanks for the prayers!! See you all on the streets!!

The Armor of God

Picture it- You are a soldier in the military, and you are about to leave the barracks for the battlefield, where you are instructed to plunge into the center of the enemy! Before you leave. however, you must go to the supply room to make sure you are properly equipped. You must have the proper clothing and weapons in order to achieve victory. Knowing what awaits you on the battlefront, do you leave your helmet back at the base? How about your boots? Do you suppose you'll march very well without those? Or, how about if you take your boots, helmet, and bullet-proof vest but decide to leave your weapon behind. Will you have much success without that? Of course not! How foolish it would be for anyone to engage in warfare without taking full advantage of every resource available.

Sadly, there are many in the body of Christ who do not take advantage of every aspect of the "armor" that God has provided. They are not equipped to engage the enemy, which is why they avoid the battlefield altogether. Perhaps they are not aware that there is a battle going on at all .
Listen to the words of Scripture: "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Eph 6:10-12

The war is real and the enemy is playing for keeps. We can ill afford to be ignorant of his devices. We ought to be always prepared to defend ourselves from his attacks. Hear the words of the apostle, "Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that you may be able ot withstand in the evil day, and having done all , to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins gird about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God..." Eph 6:13-16

Brothers and sisters, wear the full armor of God. You wouldn't go to war without the proper equipment, and you shouldn't wage spiritual warfare without being equipped either. If you desire to be used by God, you need to be protected by His armor. Don't go about it in your own strength.

See you on the streets!

Soldiers in the Army of God

Hard to believe another week has gone by. I left you with a challenge last week to make the most of every day and every opportunity to share your faith, because you can't turn back the hands of time. Every minute that passes is one you will never get back, so the challenge was to do the utmost in each moment for the Kingdom of God. The reason I continually bang the same old drum is because I know that if there is anything Satan does NOT want believers to do, it is to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to those he has in his grip, and he will do anything and everything he can to thwart the furtherance of the gospel.

As soon as you determine to open your mouth, all the flimsy excuses in the world will come flooding into your mind. Satan will seek to distract you, and if he fails at that, he will seek to discourage you, in a number of ways. He is quite content to leave you alone as long as you stay within the confines of your "christian circle" of friends. If you want to see all hell let loose against you, then determine and actually GO preach the gospel.

As a soldier of Jesus Christ, this is no surprise to us, and each attack comes as nothing new. Attacks from the enemy come with the territory when you are at war. We have been given the proper armor and been given our objectives, and the alarm of war has sounded. The battle is on. The only trouble is, many have not taken to the battlefield. They have received the orders from the Captain, but are not obeying them! They are busy enjoying all the benefits of being in the army, and studying the manual to learn as much as possible about warfare and the rules of engagement. They have regular meetings and parties at the barracks, which they spend large amounts of energy and resources on, while the battle rages on outside. They worship and adore their Captain, yet they do not do what he says!

Jesus said, "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and do no the things that I tell you?"

"Have you noticed how much praying for revival has been going on as of late - and how little revival has resulted? I believe the problem is that we have been trying to substitute praying for obeying, and it simply will not work. To pray for revival while ignoring the plain precept laid down in Scripture is to waste a lot of words and get nothing for our trouble. Prayer will become effective when we stop using it as a substitute for obedience." A.W. Tozer

"We Cristians too often substitute prayer for playing the game. Prayer is good; but when used as a substitute for obedience, it is nothing but blatant hypocrisy, a despicable Pharisaism... To your knees, man! And to your Bible! Decide at once! Don't hedge! Time flies! Cease your insults to God. Quit consutling with flesh and blood. Stop your lame, lying and cowardly excuses. Enlist!" C.T. Studd 1860-1931 British missionary who served in China, India, and Africa

I know that the reason most of us do not share our faith is because we suffer with the "Fear of Man" Syndrome. We are afraid of what people will think or say. Imagine this for a moment. If I was to offer you $1,000 for every person you witnessed to in the next 2 weeks, do you think you would be more zealous in your evangelism? Think about it --- $1,000 cash for every person you shared the gospel with for two whole weeks. How much money could you make in two weeks? You're thinking "YES!!! Break out the pillow cases, baby! We're going to the bank!" It sure would be nice if that were the case. $1,000 per person would make many of us instant evangelists indeed.

So now let me ask you: Can you deal with your "fear of man" problem for your love for money, when you can't deal with it for your love for God? It's challenging, isn't it? Listen, the Lord has rewards in heaven that will make you detest anything that money can buy. Jesus told us to build treasures in heaven, where moths and rust do not corrupt. Where is your treasure?

We have so many motivating factors for preaching the gospel: compassion for the fate of the lost, to hear the words "Well done, good and faithful servant", rewards in the kingdom, the glory of God, etc. Won't you, at least for one of these, step out and obey the voice of your Captain and actively seek and save the lost by preaching the gospel to every creature? The Lord will not let you down when you obey him.

Until next week, ..... See you on the streets!!

Our Primary Objective, Part 2

Last week we were hit with the importance and the urgency of getting the gospel out to our friends and neighbors before its too late. Of course it would seem obvious that this should be the great and foremost issue in the mind of every believer. Its been well said that he who knows what he has been saved from will know what he has been saved for. How can we ignore the plight of the world around us? How could we smugly say to the world, " Go to hell; I'm saved and I don't care." In order to say that, one would have to have a heart of stone. Don't be like the seed that fell among thorns and let the cares of this life or the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and make it unfruitful in your life. Don't be like the rich man, fairing sumptuously every day on the riches of Bible study and fellowship while Lazarus lies starving at your gate.

Charles Spurgeon said, "She is a traitor to the Master who sent her if she is so beguiled by the beauties of taste and art as to forget that to 'preach Christ ... and Him crucified' is the only object for which she exists among the sons of men. The business of the Church is the salvation of souls."

Joseph Arlean, the great Puritan preacher said, "But from whence shall I fetch my argument? And with what shall I win them? I would write to them in tears! I would weep out every argument! I would empty my veins for ink... if only they would be prevailed upon to repent and turn."

Can you feel the passion in that man's heart for the lost? Does not your own heart burn within you as you read the emotion in his words? Can you also sense the urgency with which he preached the gospel? May we be as this man was, and have hearts so set ablaze by the Spirit of God, that we, too, would be able to say that we would "empty our veins for ink". How many of us have emptied a pen of ink to write to a loved one about the everlasting life we've found in Jesus Christ?

If we would just be more eternally minded it would really put things in perspective about our time here on this earth. Life is so short, and there is nothing we will be taking out of here, ...except people. Imagine you have a bank account that gets credited $86,400 every day. The only catch is that it does not carry over a balance from day to day - every evening it erases any part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do? You would withdraw every penny, naturally. Each of us has such a bank. It's name is "time." Each morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds and each night it erases whatever part you didn't invest in good purposes. It carries no balance, and allows no overdrafts. If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going back, and no drawing against tomorrow. Invest it so you will get the utmost in God's will. The clock is running. Make the most of today.