IPhone 4 and my Wife

So, my wife gets an IPhone 4. She does not know what she has. She had some sort if goofy flip type phone that texting was hard and did not show all of the message, did not get email, did not get internet, …. it was just like an old technology phone that was klunkier than an Edsel.  I hated it. We would laugh at it.   Me and the kids have macs.  All in.  But she resisted….until today.

Now, let me tell you this.  She does not know what she has.  She has an Iphone4 but does not know how to work it.  She does not know all it has to offer.  She does not know all that is is capable of.  She does not know all that it can do.  She does not know all that it was made to do.  She does not appreciate the power of it in a traffic jam to get around stuff.  She does not know the power it has to skype all over the world.  She does not know the power of money and purchasing it has.  She does not know …… well, the power and ability of all it was meant to be.  Then, I sit on the porch and think about me and God.

God has all this power, all this salvation, all this healing, all this provision, all this peace, all this love, all this joy, all this forgiveness, all this righteousness…… and I don’t just grab it!  Me!  I don’t access the application.  I don’t use it.  I don’t call on it.  I don’t just get into it and just soak in all that God has for me.  What am I thinking?  My wife has this powerful product and she got it because me and the girls have apple stuff and she sees it and says I want that too.

God has it, I want it too.  I think I can still learn from my wife.  God has all these applications for my life and I don’t know what I have.  I thought she did not know what she has…..it is really me.  God has it for me and you.

 

Free After 35 Years….How About You?

So,….DNA evidence does just as much to  clear as to convict.  This guy is free after 35 years.  Wonder how he felt all those years?  Wonder how me and you feel after all these years of captivity?

Jesus came to set the captives free.  You captive somehow, somewhere, from something?  You may be for now…. this is prophesy to you right now….you are no longer captive…you are set free. 

The Prophet proclaimed this in the Old Covenant….but it is for you.  Be set free in Jesus name. 

louie

 

Pizza Before Bed

So, I am riding around with 2 of my 3 daughters today and they begin to ask me about dreams and God…..that God has spoken to them in dreams last night…….2 kids….in dreams….in one night….  What is up with that?  Can God speak in dreams….is this some weird mojo or something?  This is what they are asking me.

Acts 2:17 says that in the end times…..that sons and daughters shall prophesy and young men and old men will have visions and dreams… now I am not so hooked up to think that girls are not a part of this dream thing…..because I know that God will dispense gifts as He sees fit….and both of their dreams….or visions in the middle of the night deals with …….  those who do not know God.  My one daughter work me up at 430 am to tell me about it….it was awesome.  The other daughter said it was at 4am…but she did not wake me up…..her choice…they have access to me 24/7.

You see, God has been talking to us in dreams for a long time..it is like all over the bible…and I have been having  dreams and God has been speaking to me …when I pay attention.  I will bet that you have had some dreams and wondered if this was some sort of weirdo vision or if you had pizza before bed. 

God is all over dreams in the bible.  He is all in them….all over the place.  Some have obeyed and listened….others have not…..

What I would say to you now….in these end times….is this…..are you having dreams…..is God speaking to you…..?  I have had 2 people bring me dreams they have  had….they have written them down….I would say to you tonight…in a word of knowledge…that God has been speaking to you about your life in dreams…. share them with me if  you have the guts and get this out for the body of Christ.  It is not pizza before bed but the living spirit of God….you had this stuff happen to  you?  Tell us.

louie

 

Pizza Man and God

We had Swervechurch this Saturday.  It was a Valentine’s Day sort of Swervechurch.  We had oldies music, that the young folks even knew, and a great crowd.  As usual we had (weather permitting…and it was here in Port Orange, Florida) a blow up obstacle course for the kids.  The kids were all over it.  And we had pizza….a lot of it.  A typical Swervechurch.  All in one  hour!

Well, we were into the message and had a video about forgiveness…..something we need in families and it was keyed upon here on Valentine’s Day….because we tend to hold offenses against our family the most and that is exactly what Satan wants…well, at least I do..  so I preach about stuff that I really screw up on all the time thinking everyone else does too!

So, I am teaching and see the pizza man hanging out in the back after he delivered a bunch of pizza….I know he is paid because my wife handles that and always tips them good because stats show that Christians are stingy tippers….so we really try to bless folks…(we even give away a 25 dollar gift card at each Swervechurch).

So, the pizza man is hanging around….talking with my wife as I am getting to the end and my wife hands him some paper…..

The Pizza Man….well, wants to know about God….about this Jesus that I am talking about…..about this forgiveness that I am telling everyone that is for them….but he has pies to deliver…and he leaves.

After it is over….my wife tells me about the Pizza Man wanting to know about Jesus…and she tells him about Him…and gives him our phone number on a napkin.

You see….God can meet us at any time, at any place,…. even the Pizza Man.  God cares about us all.

God is so cool.

louie

 

A Bloody Mess

 

Ever seen a pool of blood?  It can make you sick.  I usually associate blood with death.

I have seen piles of blood over the years…..usually a mess…  but I never thought about how it saved me.  In Romans 8 the record reflects that we, our person, is both dead and alive.  It says that if Christ is in us…our body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.   (OK this is a bible lesson…a very short one).

If Christ is in us….we may die a physical death, our body is physical and it wears out, gets crushed, gets old and we die….that is for sure….  However, if Christ is in us,….our spirit is not dead, it is not subject to the physical constraints of age….it is free and alive. 

Now, if Christ is not in us then we are a bloody mess.. we are alive in body for a time, a season, but it is a short season….and then we are physically dead.  Then, not only is our body dead….but we are also dead in our spirit because we are separated from God. 

You see, the opposite occurs if Christ is in us….we are dead to the sin in our lives, those things that constantly mess with us, we mess up on and get physically entangled in…but if we trust Christ….our spirit is eternal and more importantly, our righteousness is not because of us, what  we do or don’t do, what we accomplish or don’t accomplish,…our righteousness is because of Christ….  The substitutionary work He did on the cross for us is what we benefit from…..which is basically a bloody mess. 

Short bible lesson…..we are not our own, we were bought with a price…blood.  A bloody mess.   The price we were  bought with, paid the debt of sin, and although we may physically die,…we will live forever with God. 

300 word short bible lesson. 

louie

 

Bulletproof

Bulletproof.  Maybe an oversimplification, but Iwant to make a point.  Now, this is a thinking or pondering post.  Not normally my style. 

I still think about Haiti and the destruction that has occurred.  I think about the statement that Pat Robertson made and is there a thread of truth about it, (Haiti being under a curse)  and I wonder about parallels in the bible.  The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is one example mentioned in the Pat Robertson post.  But, only one person and his family made it out…….Lot.  Again, this is mentioned in an earlier post.   But what about destruction and God’s people and the bible?

Now, again, I am not trying to be too overly deep but there are examples of a whole bunch of destruction, devastation and then death and God’s people not even suffering anything….even with this destruction in the same country as God’s people….as a matter of fact….it was all around God’s people, even in their neighborhood…and they suffered no calamity. This is recorded in Exodus chapter 7-12.  A big read but really neat. 

You see, God set  his people apart from the evil people.  This is recorded in Exodus 11:7 and Exodus 8:22.  It is so striking.  And after all these plagues; God, in Exodus 12:29-30 brought on the worst of it.  All the firstborn in Egypt, the bad place, were killed.  But,…God’s people were spared.  Not even harmed.

So, I still struggle with this destructive, with this judgemental side of God, which I believe is real.  But I also see the redemptive and protective side of God….where all these bad folks were destroyed….(even in the Red Sea too) but even in the midst of destruction, even in the midst of death….God  protects, God preserves his people.  Me and you.  Bulletproof.

If there is death, destruction, devastation all around you……get underneath the covering of God….you will be protected.  You are bulletproof.

This is cool stuff.  There were a lot of links in this post….could last you for days….just digest it.  Take it easy….come back to this post and decide on your own.   louie

 

Crippled

That is what this man was,…..crippled.  He was lowered down through the roof by some friends.  He was desperate.  Jesus was teaching and as the man lay there on his mat, lame, unable to get up….  Jesus told him that his sins were forgiven.  The man did not ask for that, he came for a healing.  He wanted to walk but he got words.  He wanted to be healed and all Jesus said…at first was….your sins were forgiven…  This man was not worried about sins….he was worried about walking. 

Those around Jesus, especially the religious leaders, were outraged that Jesus could declare someone could be forgiven.  So, Jesus posed a rhetorical question to those who wondered what he could do.  He posed the question, “would it be easier for someone to forgive sins or to tell them to take up their bed and walk? “

Words are cheap.  Jesus knew that and everyone around knew it too!  So, as they looked on and as Jesus was exhaling the last syllable of the answer, he turned to the crippled man and told him to take up his bed and walk.  And he did. 

I think about the things that cripple us today.  We may not be on a mat, in a wheelchair or use a cane, but I suspect that there are things that cripple us today.   I have had a lot of things that crippled me….and I am healthy.  Got stuff that cripples you today?  I do!  Get this stuff out.  Present yourself to Jesus…  right now.  He can handle it.       Read this account in Luke. 

 louie

 

No Weapon Formed Against Me Shall Prosper

 

A grandmother being robbed is able to share the Gospel with the robber.  I think you will enjoy this Youtube video. I personally do not have this sort of faith…a guy tried to kill me with a gun when I was a police offier…and I shot him…   louie

 

Because I Said So

That is what I got sometimes when growing up.  How about you?  I thought it was sort of lame when I was young but the older I got,….the more I realized that mom and dad did not want to have to debate with me about certain things.  They said it…… and it was as they said.  Well……like…..”don’t play with those matches”….I remember that I had a gas can….matches….and…well, the rest is history.  It was,…..”be careful with that table saw…it can hurt  you”…… 20 stitches later….  They were right….because they said so.  They had been there!  They had experienced it!

Those were warnings. On the positive side of the ledger…. Mom and Dad also told me that I could do anything I wanted to do.  They told me that I could become anything I wanted to become.  They said that I could accomplish anything I wanted to accomplish….they said that if I followed God, He would guide me and direct me…..because they said so.  They had experienced it!

Jesus told his disciples….and by extension, us, to heal the sick, cast out demons, preach the gospel.  Because he said so.  He meant it.  He had experienced it!   He gave us power and authority to accomplish this.  He did it with the apostles, with the 72 and then with any that believe……..

Are there areas of your life where things are a little sticky, a little gooey, a little, well, messed up?   God wants you to be victorious.  He wants you to overcome “stuff’ in your lives…and me in my life.  It is simple.   Ask God, He will speak to you, He probably already is… and then believe.   

Walk in the victory God has for your life.  This Monday morning…..this week, know that God loves you.  Because He Said So!

louie

 

Lightning

In Luke 9, Jesus called His disciples together and gave them Power and Authority.  He told them… to Just Do It. 

I have just spent the last 1.5 hours, with my youngest adventurist daughter, Emily, sitting on my back porch watching a wonderful lightning display and listening to the resulting thunder that comes with the lighting.  It has been awesome.  You can not help but thing of how big it is and how small we are. 

Emily and I sat there….in awe of what we were seeing.  It was one of those….I can not believe it is happening, nights.  And I thought of what I was going to blog about tonight… power and authority.  Then I thought about how cool God is.

Jesus gave his disciples,….power and authority.  He sent them out to….drive out all demons and to cure diseases,  and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

The  2 Greek words mean basically dynamite (power) and I can just say it and it is so…. (authority).  They are Power  and Authority. 

My brother Frank and I were talking today about what is God’s job and what is our job.  We have lead hundreds of people to Jesus Christ.  This is not bragadocious… just what God wants us to do.  If us Christians are not showing people the Lord…. then we are not doing what we should be doing. 

We have to be telling people about Jesus Christ.  When is the last time you have?  Been healing the sick?  I keep trying… not giving up yet… sometimes works….sometimes does not… still working on it….You?

Come join me and my  brother.  Come see us at Covenant on the 26th, Wednesday night, 7pm.   Got something for  you. 

louie