As this year comes to a close,

As this year comes to a close, the following passage has come to mind:

[23]  Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. [24]  "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. [25] "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? [26]  "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels." {Luke 9:23-26}

 

Now I don’t want anyone to think that I expend tons of energy making every effort to insure that I am broke, poor, miserable, sick, and void of any enjoyment, but over the last few years it has become more than apparent that there is a large segment of “spiritual teachers” who in the guise of Christendom, expend a tremendous volume of energy, focusing on a “health and wealth” message.

 

I like reasonable wealth better than poverty, who wouldn’t? I would much rather be healthy than sick, who wouldn’t? But the focus of the Gospel is the redeeming work of Christ; the mission of the church is to pattern our life after Christ where His message of salvation is more important, front and center of anything else we can offer! I have witnessed too many times, “churches” that give preference to the wealthy among them, while all the time, pandering some not so fortunate, but avoiding too much involvement to those who have little or no finances to contribute.

 

Remember, the first to be told of our Savior’s birth, were looked upon as the scum of society; stinky, smelly shepherds; yet the angels announced to them first. The latter account has men of means, the Maggi (or wise men) who realized the reason for their wealth; to give it away! Now, let’s read the passage from Luke again.

“Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.”

 

Is your wealth standing in the way of your salvation or is it merely a means to bless the Lord, by blessing others and in doing so leading them to salvation? That is a question that needs to be answered regularly in each of our lives.

 

There is collateral damage that happens to individuals when they are told that “God has to give them what they ask for” with complete disregard to God’s sovereignty, and His ability to see the complete, the eternal picture, and they don’t receive what they asked for, further devastated when they are told they are to blame because “they didn’t have enough faith” when in reality it may not have been within the eternal providence of the Almighty. Ministry is supposed to first of all lift up Christ and in doing so bring others to Him, not put them under condemnation. We then teach them to live, so in turn they also bring others into the knowledge of His saving power.

 

Our true wealth, and complete healing, is when we leave this life, and reign with Him forever. It does happen here in this life and thank God it does, and thanks to those who faithfully pray to that end. May we never stop praying for provision and healing, but let us focus our ministry energy on those, who are lost and going to Hell. Let us be the instrument God uses to bring them to Himself!

 

Happy NEW YEAR!

Salt & Light…Regardless

Every leap year, our country has a general election, and every even year is an election year of some type. This does not include any local, school district, or recall elections that may also be scheduled at various times. It is no secret that in our society, elections are a vital part of how law is written and enforced, but is also not a secret the effect that elections can have on friend, family, and church relationships. They can be extremely strained and often broken.

Let me assure you at this point, that I for one, love the freedom we have come to enjoy in this country, and intend to work towards the preservation of that in any manner I can. Let me also assure you that I believe in the unchangeable nature of God, which also means His Word and law is also unchangeable. 

 I have encountered in the last few months, that many even among the church, that insist through implication that we should never impose our morals on those who may not share the same moral code. While I will agree that we need not bow to “terrorist methodology”, we are called to be “Salt and Light”, and not necessarily passive in nature. The Scriptures exhort us to minister to the needs of the children, widows, fatherless, the elderly, and even our enemies. We are called to “do good to those who despitefully use us”. We are admonished to protect the children, and according to the scripture, they existed and were known by God before conception, so that admonishment is far reaching. That means even if we must advocate that stand through a political process, so be it, as life is a vital issue.

If we the church spent more of our income and energy being an essential part of the social net, that helps the truly needy, instead of building “over the top” monuments to our success, wasteful government programs would not seem such a necessity. After all “forced benevolence” is not benevolence at all!

Voting is our civic duty, both as citizens and as Christians, so we should be the voice, the salt and light that we are called to be. Rest assured though, that whomever emerges as the leader in each race, God is still on the throne, still in control, and not taken by surprise.

The future rests in God’s hands, and given the signs of the times, the time of the church, is rapidly drawing to a close. We must begin as the body of Christ, to be more creative, innovative even to be the light of Christ to all those around us, as current efforts may be restricted or even outlawed as the time of “Jacob’s Trouble” approaches.

Please pray earnestly and engage yourself at the voting booth!
God Bless you all!

 

Steve Orwig

Thoughts for Today July 2nd, 2012

1- You truly have learned much, when you realize you know little.

2- One word spoken in understanding is better than ten thousand without.

3- The sun rises and sets everyday and is not dependant on our ability or lack thereof to see it.

4- 1 step backwards requires 3 corrective actions to return to where you were;1st  you must decide it was an error, 2nd  you must turn around, and 3rd you must step back to where you were.

5- The presence of a friend is better than a thousand words of consolation.

6-The most honest conversation we can have is the one we live rather than speak.

7- Sympathy though sweet is misguided, for only God can know the troubles of your heart.

8- Words spoken to impress, will reveal the folly of the fool.

9- To see for yourself is not always proof of anything, for even the eye can be easily deceived.

10- Follow only the Truth; for your heart can be swayed, and your mind can be changed.

Lessons I've Learned

During the course of my return to public ministry, I have discovered or reaffirmed several facts:

1. There is no perfect length for a sermon; they’re either too long or too short.
2. There is no topic or subject that is pleasing or will be accepted by all.
3. What I have too say is usually more interesting to me, than my listeners, therefore it’s better to let God speak through me rather than wing it alone.
4. Preparation looks better in my notes than the delivery given, therefore my gift is most likely writing not speaking.
5. Every thing I can present is subject to argument and criticism even though I’m right.
6. At least half of my listeners at any given time would rather not hear the truth, but would rather be coddled and “approved of”.
7. No good deed will ever go unpunished.
8. People love you until you step on their toes.
9. Many people follow a trail of excitement rather than a path of substance.

My conclusion? I must not practice “To thine own self be true”, for “mine own self” is tainted with my own emotions and can lead me astray. My mission is “to God’s Word be true”, for truly Christ has said: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no man comes to the Father, but by Me”. So my mission is clear.

Purpose in all Things

“If I quote you, I should take great care to not misquote you, or only repeat the part of your statement I find palatable; for if I do, I misrepresent you, both in who you are and what you said.  Neither should we only quote that part of God’s Word that we find palatable, for in doing so, we misrepresent the Most Holy and awesome God, the Creator of the universe, and His great purpose.”

There are many portions of the Bible, that speak of violence, of pain, of suffering, of poverty, of death, and if we are all honest, there is a part of everyone of us that at sometime or another, have done our best to avoid extensive mention of these subjects and their textual reference Biblically speaking. It is far easier to speak of all the good things in life, the prosperity, the health, power and influence. If we only accentuate the positive it is void of victory for victory cannot be appreciated unless you emerge from defeat; healing cannot be appreciated unless you emerge from sickness; and wealth cannot be appreciated unless you immerge from poverty.

At the time of difficulty, I have despised going through the tough lessons of life, but in retrospect, I now thank God for the difficulties I have been through, because I realize He was with me every step of the way, and used those tough experiences to build wisdom, character, and fortitude, that I could have not otherwise learned.

We were never instructed to “give thanks for everything” , but rather  “in everything give thanks”. Big Difference!

What will you or I face in the near future that will be part of what God uses to mold us into His image? Have a Blessed Day!isH

“You Can Lead A Horse to Water….”

You know the rest of the saying, and have probably used that phrase sometime in your life; I know I have, but lately it has taken a whole new significance to me.

You can tell when a horse begins to dehydrate by pinching his skin in a loose area; if the skin does not bounce back immediately the horse is in the early stages of dehydration. The horse however may not realize at that time, that they are in need of water.

As dehydration progresses, the heart rate of the horse will begin to increase slowly then accelerate more quickly as time and dehydration progress. Even at this stage, at least a significant number of horses will not drink the water if it is in front of them. Thus the saying!

Whether or not the Christian realizes it or not, the church is in dire need of revival; you can “pinch” them and they don’t seem to respond, many don’t even conceive the need for revival, but are willing to accept “status quo”. In all fairness, a significant number of ministers don’t want to “rock the boat” upsetting folks. After all you wouldn’t want to drive off the affluent or risk a law-suit for anything. So, remaining unchallenged, those same folks can become even further from a realization of the need for revival.

As the “spiritual dehydration” increases, some of those same people may begin to thirst without the encouragement of leadership, but may lack the knowledge of what to do. Others however will still be in a state of denial for the need of revival.

Revival doesn’t “just happen”, revival is sent from God, when people pray earnestly seeking Him and purpose in their own lives. Revival doesn’t suddenly explode from nothing, but begins a person at a time, when they fall before God humbly with a contrite spirit, and diligently stay there for however long it takes, until they break through. The great revival of Wales was a result of over 13 years of diligent prayer!

God prepares the heart of the one who petitions in prayer, and as that person moves in obedience to God’s Word, God also prepares the hearts of the people for both revival and an awakening.

I am far from the “most spiritual” person around, but my prayer is that God will increase my “spiritual tenacity” and give and balanced combination of boldness and wisdom, and I pray that because I realize that those qualities can only happen if they are “God granted and imparted”; all men are void of those qualities unless God is involved.

So are you ready for revival? Are you, am I ready for the “Holy Determination” it will take, the consistency in prayer to bring it to pass?

Reflections on Good Friday

Reflecting thoughts today, and as while the crucifixion may not have actually occurred on Friday, today does bring me into remembrance of what Jesus Christ did for us and all it signifies.

Over the years, I have had the opportunity to visit many different ministries, seen some on TV, heard some on radio. As time marches on, I hear less and less teaching centered on the reason why Jesus came to earth in the first place, which was “to seek and save those who are lost”. Teaching the church to live Godly lives is important and necessary, but we can never allow ourselves to be void of our responsibility of evangelism; after all trying to live a Godly life is impossible if an individual does not have a relationship with Christ.

We can teach on Christian stewardship, an excellent and necessary topic, but the gifts of a person outside of Christ, are meaningless and confusing, even a stumbling block unto them! You see many think that is a way for them to atone for their sin and somehow gain entrance into heaven; but it is “not of works lest any man should boast”. Salvation only happens when a person accepts the free gift of salvation, which cost God, everything!

It is far easier to build a “Country Club” atmosphere at a church and thus gain the masses looking for a “ride” and a “feel good” social gathering, than it is to confront the lost about sin. But if we say we love the lost, we must show them we do by snatching them from the grips of sin, confronting them with the love of Christ, showing them the way of salvation. Without Christ, they are lost in sin, under the curse, headed for the fiery flames of Hell for eternity. I cannot speak for anyone else, but I for one do not want their blood on my hands!

Get a clue church! They will be damned eternally if we fail to tell them by words and our lives! This means I will preach and sing about the “blood of Jesus”; this means I must always be ready to share Christ regardless of the circumstances at hand. I must not allow a service to end without an invitation to come to Christ, if it is within my ability to do so. It IS that important.

God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting Life!

Happy Resurrection Day!

Mirrors of Consumption

Back in the ‘70’s & 80’s, there was a media blitz on nutrition encouraging people to eat a balanced meal consisting of the “four food groups”. The slogan for that campaign was, “You Are What You Eat”, which is actually quite impossible from a literal sense, is quite true in the sense that what a person ingests, directly effects physically that persons overall physical persona.

The same is true in regards to our other “intakes” or senses; what we see, hear, and touch. If we ingest a regular diet of song lyrics that are in opposition to God’s Word, it will augment how we think; if we watch movies or television that promotes un-Godly lifestyles, it will cause us to be tolerant to sin and wickedness. If make the person with un-Godly actions or lifestyle are biggest influence or closest friend, we then adopt the “different strokes for different folks” attitude, which is an attitude that “winks” at sin.

Our minds become spiritually corrupt, before we can realize it. We should fill our minds and hearts with the Word of God, which is the only sure defense, against sin. Psalm 119:11 says, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.”

So in reality, we all are mirrors or reflections, of what we fill our minds with, what we hide in our hearts. Something to reflect on…

…brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.  Philippians 4:8

Shouting Silently

A good defense is well, a good defense, but it may not be the best defense!
There is a time to speak up in defense, speak out to defend, but are many more times where silence is a much better choice. No one has had to learn this lesson more times or more ways, than myself.
When a person "walks in the light", their walk will be consistent; consistency needs no defense, it speaks for itself, without colorization. That is not to say when a person pops up with a defensive position, that they are in need of defending their life, but if not, it appears to others many times more like an apology for what they believe and do. We should never apologize for our faith if it is in line with the Bible, God's Word; giving a reason for the "hope that is within you", is not a defense, but rather a "testifying or dissertation" of what is, not what may be contrived. It is about a "want to" not a "have to", therefore your life and actions should need no defense.
Creation needs to be stated for sure, but to even a halfway logical mind, it needs no defense, for the obvious handiwork of God the Creator, speaks softly and confidently, and at the same time, shouts with proclamation.
So know what you believe and why you believe it, that will instill confidence in you, realize you may need to share your faith, but be careful with the defense; don't let them become apologies for your faith.
Something to reflect on!

I remind me of my cat...sorta

When I found our cat at the rescue center, the people had him in a cage and given him a name any cat would be ashamed of..."Michaelangelo"...My sweet wife was quick to insist on renaming him, said her "boy" couldn't have a sissy name, so we re-named him Harley.
In the days that followed, Harley clung to Rhealene (my wife) would not let her out of his sight, he insisted on being close to her face where he could be assured that she was there. He was a very insecure cat, although with his new family had no reason to be.
Well like any pet, he grew and developed his unique personality; he would walk around the house and sing; yes sing, not meow, or howl, but sing a very distinctive song. He learned to fetch, even better than most dogs!
To be expected he has been spoiled to the point of expecting preferencial treatment at all times. Well this is where the comparison begins.
I make sure that Harley has the best in kitty kibble; "Science Diet -Optima". It has everything he needs to be a vibrant, healthy kitty. Over the years, we began to give him treats (kittie cookies at our house), and later we added soft canned food, just a tiny bit to make his dining pleasure more enjoyable. (are you starting to see a pattern?)
Harley always has his kibble, but always wants what he doesn't have all the time, his treats and canned food. He has the run of the house all the time, although we are not always there (feeding a cat's fancy, isn't cheap we must work!). Well it's one thing when he sweetly comes up to you and with a little "meow", makes his request known, but ever increasingly he demands those things which were intended  to a blessing above the normal (do you see where I'm going with this?).
I get aggrevated with him for being bossy and insistent, then I get convicted! I wonder if I sound the same way to God sometimes? He provides all my needs, but I insist on the "Special Blessings" as my needs instead of His ample provision. I demand constant attention, want my way, and act like I am the only one that matters sometimes. That must annoy God!
The difference though is while my cat may be able to manipulate me, God cannot, and will not be manipulated. He's not a here to fulfill our every whim, but has promised to fulfill our every need. God will take care of me, he will withhold from me those things that are not in my best interest sometimes, but it's only for His best in my life.
Letting go and letting God is not easy for people with a "control freak" personality, but it is necessary to grow in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Have a Blessed Day!