Monthly Archives: May 2011

Be Careful

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I love life. I love being alive.  I love every second that God has placed me here upon the earth.

Now, is life perfect?  Of course not.  Life can be very hard, full of challenges, full of trials, full of tears, full of hurts.  Life can really be a bear sometimes.

But, even with that, I still love life.  I love the stuff God lets me do, the people He has placed in my life, the dreams He has given me and Asbury, the road that we are called to walk upon.

But, in life, we have to be careful.  We have to be careful, in each day, to make sure that the main thing in our life stays the main thing. We have to be careful that the thing that is most important in our life stays the most important.

We need to stop.  Pause. And make sure we are living for the right thing this morning.

Listen to what we read in 1 John 2 this morning:

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.

Today, we don’t need to crawl into a cave. We don’t need to forsake the things of life that we enjoy. We don’t need to put a towel over our heads and walk around long faced and sad.

Let’s live.  Let’s enjoy life. Let’s really squeeze the life out of every last moment.

But, be careful. What are you craving the most?  Where is your heart truly at? What are you truly seeking after? Where are you really seeking to live your life?

The stuff of this world is passing away.  The stuff of this world will fade away.

God is eternal. God is forever. In Him, true, everlasting life is found.  Not in the stuff of this world.

Today, what are you living for? Where is your life found?

Today, be careful.  Today, make sure you’re living for the right thing.

Everything You Need

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What do you need today?

What do you need today to be the person God has called you to be? What do you need to be faithful?  What do you need to accomplish great things for Him?

Let’s take the conversation out of the clouds. What do you need to be nice to your co-workers?

What do you need to not get frustrated with your spouse?

What do you need to not get angry with you children?

What do you need to not give into peer pressure today at school?

What do you need to think of yourself as someone of precious worth?

Whatever it is, you have it today.  Listen to the words of 2 Peter 1:3

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.

By God’s power, you’ve got it.  Through knowing Jesus, you’ve got it.

You’ve got everything you need. Through a relationship with Jesus, you’ve got everything you need to be who God is calling you to be, to do what God is calling you to do, to live as God is calling you to live.

Through Jesus, there’s not anything that is impossible.  You can be nice. And forgiving. And strong. And faithful. And brave. And patient.  Through Jesus you can do it all.

So, today, in those moments when you hear the whispers. When you hear the temptation. When you hear the doubts. When you hear the fear. When you feel the anger. When you think you can’t do it.

Remember, you’ve got everything you need. Through Jesus, you’ve got it all. Turn to Him. In your trials, your worries, your troubles.

Turn to Him.

And in Him, you’ll find everything you need.

God Will Not Ignore You

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I pick at folks that my cell phone is always attached to my person. I might not always be able to answer when I get a call; but it’s always there with me. And, unless I’m in the middle of something that I simply can’t stop doing, I am pretty much always accessible by phone.

We live an age when it’s easy to get ahold to people. Through cell phone. Email.  Text. Facebook. Twitter. We can always get through to someone. Very rarely is there a time when for most of us, we can’t be reached.

That is how God is as well.  Listen to the words of the Psalmist today:

The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth. He grants the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cries for help and rescues them.

God hears. God is there.  God hears our cries, hears our hurts, hears our prayers.

God does not turn a deaf ear to us. God does not turn away from us. God does not forsake us. God does not abandon us. God hears the cries of those that love and fear Him.

And He rescues them.

Today, I don’t know what’s going on in your life.  I don’t know where the hurt is, where the pain is, where the fear is.  I don’t know what is causing you stress and worry. I don’t know what’s robbing your joy.

But God does.  And God will hear your cry this morning when you turn to Him.

God will hear your voice when you lift it up to Him.

God will come to you, when you give it to Him.

God will not ignore you. God will not forget you.  God will not forsake you.  He will turn to you, when you call to Him.

Don’t lose hope of that. Don’t lose faith in that. God knows you, He loves you, He will come to you.

Today, you can trust in Him.  Today, you turn to Him. Today, He will come to you. Today, He will be there for you. God will not ignore you.

Andy and Holly Talk Marriage Podcast

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The sermon podcast for Sunday, May 1, 2011 is up on Asbury Church’s website. This is the first our sermons in our new series “Connections.”  This month we’ll be talking about the “Connections” or relationships that define us.  In this message, Holly and I have a conversation about marriage, what we’ve learned, what we’ve worked on, and what God’s shown us.  You can listen to it by clicking here, or you can listen to it here on this blog by clicking below. And, as always, you can subscribe to my sermon podcasts through iTunes.