A VOICE

John 1:22-23
22 Then they said to him, "Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?" 23 He said, "I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, 'MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,' as Isaiah the prophet said." NASU
**Who are you? Do we have an answer to that question? Why were you put here on this earth? Are you silent or are you a voice? And if you are a voice then what voice are you? Are you a voice crying out in the wilderness make straight or do you cry out a crooked road? I’ve heard a quote about a famous evangelist who said, “Preach the gospel at all times, and if you have to, use words.” Our actions are almost always louder than the words we use. We can cry out all we want but if we are walking the crooked road while we are crying out make straight the way, we are of no effect to those who need the straight path. We are each a voice and God has given us a purpose to be here on this earth and with that purpose, He has given us a voice to cry out with. The question is…. are we crying out and what are we crying out? Today I choose to cry out to the wilderness “MAKE STRAIGHT YOUR WAY!”

BUSY BUSY BUSY

Isa 58:13-14
"If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot
From doing your own pleasure on My holy day,
And call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable,
And honor it, desisting from yourown ways,
From seeking your own pleasure
And speaking your own word,
14 Then you will take delight in the LORD,
And I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, For the mouth of the LORD has spoken." NASU
** Here in Seattle people work all the time. Because of the cost of living, they work their selves into an early death. They don’t even have time to enjoy their lives much less go to a place of worship and enjoy God. Busy busy busy all the time going here and there and getting nothing really done. The scripture is very clear when Jesus said, “come unto me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” But people here in the Northwest work hard, play hard and die hard. My prayer is “oh God when will their eyes be opened and see your glory in the land?” “When will they find real peace and joy?” Use me Lord to be an messenger of peach and joy. Use Celebration to show your glory in the Puget Sound to bring hope to a dying region.

REPENTACE FOR A VOTE

Isa 41:26-29
26 "Who but I have told you this would happen? Who else predicted this, making you admit that he was right? No one else said a word! 27 I was the first to tell Jerusalem, 'Look! Help is on the way!' 28 Not one of your idols told you this. Not one gave any answer when I asked. 29 See, they are all foolish, worthless things. Your idols are all as empty as the wind. NLT
** It’s amazing at how many idols we have in our lives today. We spend so much time with all the “stuff” in this world and forget to spend time with the living God. We spend so much of our money on all the “stuff” in this world too and we short change God. Oh what a mess the church is in during these last days. We trust in man who cannot save us and give us what we want. I don’t understand how we can’t or we refuse to see things that are happening all around us and we don’t do anything about them. For instance, I just read an article about this new health care system that if it is passed it will REQUIRE that every sr. citizen will HAVE to report to a health care provider ever 5 years and listen to a talk about death with dignity (assisted suicide)!!!! Not to mention abortions will now become financially provided by our government which is my tax dollars in action! I just feel sorry for all those who voted for this administration and it’s evil ways. They will be held accountable before God for their vote. Father God please forgive us for letting this take place right before our very eyes. Please forgive those who have participated in the killing of innocent lives by their vote. Help them wake up and begin to stand for the lives of our unborn babies and now for our sr. citizens who will be pressured to end their lives. Amen

BETTY WHITE'S PASSING

This morning I received a phone call informing me that my sister Betty White had passed away in the middle of the night. I don’t think I can recall ever a time that she didn’t have to battle with something in her life. It hasn’t even been a year since her husband passed away and somehow I didn’t think she would last long without RB. I know now that she is in peace and all the ailments and troubles she had are gone. Thank you Jesus for holding my dear sister in your arms and as you look into her eyes I know that all her worries and despair will melt away because of the love you have for her. Please tell her that I already miss her. Amen.

THREE POINTS OF BATTLE

1 Peter 1:13
13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. NASU
** Getting ready for battle covers three things. First of all Peter states here that we’re to prepare our minds for action. Why? Because this is where every battle begins. The way you think and vision you set will make all the difference on how the battle will be fought and won. How do we prepare our minds? Filling it with the word of God. If we continue to cram the word of God in our minds then there will be no room left for the garbage of the world. Second he tells us to be “sober in spirit.” Well, what is the opposite of being sober? Drunk. So how do we get drunk in our spirit? I would believe that it is taking sips of what the world has to offer that does not line up with God’s will for your life. One way to illustrate this is what you are feeding yourself with in your entertainment department. Is it godly or is it worldly? Ok, let me get to the point. The music you listen to on a continual basis. Is it Christian or is it of the world? This is just one of many ways that Christians become drunk on the world in their spirit. The other main thing that Christians get drunk on in the world is the media they watch…. TV, Movies etc. Finally, Peter says “fix your hope completely on the grace.” Thru all of this we must continue to remember it’s not by works of righteousness that we stand pure before the father but by the grace of Jesus Christ that was paid for us. It is so great to know that as we walk thru this life that God has given us, and as we come under attack, we know that it’s only by His grace we are made free and are victors over every war the enemy wages against us. So don’t get sidelined by something you did and you have a hard time forgiving yourself. Just remember that Jesus forgives you and wants you back on the front lines as His forgiven and righteous son or daughter.

CONFESSION OF SIN BRINGS HEALING

James 5:16
Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. NASU
** Therefore? It is always a word to look at the previous few verses to see what it is linking itself to. The previous verse? Let the sick person call the elders of the church and anoint them with oil so that he may be healed. But the therefore links the healing verse to confessing your sins to one another so that you may be healed. So if your sick, before you call the elders of the church or have someone pray over you, confess your sins to someone you trust and then the prayer of faith will heal the sick person. Often times we feel we can continue to walk in sin and God will just grant us what we need in the time of prayer….. however God is more concerned about your spiritual health than your physical health. Get the spiritual taken care of and He will take care of your physical needs.

THE MEUNITES

2 Chron 26:6-7
7 God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians who lived in Gur-baal, and the Meunites. NASU
** Aha! I’ve now found a name for that tribe of people who are always concerned about themselves and put themselves first…. The MEunites! I knew that they existed and I’ve dealt with them often but I didn’t know what to call them. You know who I’m talking about don’t you? Those Christians that have not yet given themselves completely up to Christ. They are selfish and selfcentered always wondering why everyone is not serving them and why people are not catering to them…. It’s all about them. Yep I’ve finally found their tribe and it was located in the old testament….. the MEunites. :)

FOURTH OF JULY FUNNY

The Fourth of July was coming up, and the nursery school teacher took the opportunity to tell her class about patriotism. "We live in a great country," she said. "One of the things we should be happy is that, in this country, we are all free."

One little boy came walking up to her from the back of the room. He stood with his hands on his hips and said, "I'm not free. I'm four."

WE'RE HERE

Isa 5:20-21
20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;
Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes
And clever in their own sight! NASU
** This is so happening right now! It is all around us and people don’t want to know the truth. Everyone is comfortable living in their darkened lives without letting the light come and show truth. I am amazed at how just knowing Jesus and standing by His name can bring such diversity and division all around us. Who would have ever thought that by just calling ourselves a Christian that people would think that we’re crazy or close minded….. this is truly living in the very end times and we are in the middle of it all. Often times I’ve felt like just hiding away in some little town in nowhere USA and just living out my life without the controversy of my relationship with Jesus Christ….. but then life would be extremely boring and I wouldn’t be any good for the kingdom of God or those that are perishing that WANT to know the truth and the truth shall set them free!!!!!