cup of joe

Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! Hebrews 13:1, 2 Maybe you have never thought about the fact that your actions and words could have been done in the presence of divine helpers that God has surrounded you with. Imagine that the person who just happened to come across your path had had been sent by God as an angel into your world to see how you would respond. It sounds crazy doesn't it? Yet, angels are all around us...watching over us. We never really know whether we have been in the presence of angels but many people, myself included, can attest that they have “felt” angelic moments. Our goal should be to let brotherly love continue and watch out for each other. Do good, live life as if God’s special messengers were right there witnessing your every move. My prayer today is that you would feel His presence in supernatural ways today and that the a…

Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God. 3 John 1:11
There is not a day that goes by where I do not say to myself, "what are they doing?" I am constantly amazed at the ignorance of people and the blatant disregard they have for each other. People do some strange things these days and many times they forget the simple instruction penned for us in God's Word-imitate what is good. There are only two teams to play on, good and evil. What YOU do will determine where you land. Good things benefit others and ultimate will bring good things to you. Bad things harm others and bring no benefit at all. Why not consider today what kinds of things you are imitating. What team do you want to play for? It's up to you. There are some tough decisions ahead so...choose good!

It would appear to many that the battle for decency and morality is being won by people that are “anti” everything good. It makes me think back to the time in the 60’s when prayer was taken out of public schools; not because of popular opinion but rather because 3% of the nation was demonstrative and vocal about what they believed. They were extremely BOLD. If things are ever going to begin to tilt in a godly direction, people that love the Lord and the Bible are going to have to start mining for bold. Scripture is packed with the impact and change that being bold can bring.
Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are verybold. 2 Cor 3:12
Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Acts 4:29

When was the last time you actually stood up or spoke up for the things that matter in your Christian life? Have you been afraid? Do you just not want to get involved? We have been filled with the power of the Holy Spirit for a purpose-to bring a…

1 Corinthians 16:13-14 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love. What I love about this verse is the all encompassing attitude that it encourages. Alert, stable, courageous and strong: what a powerful 4-pack! Stand your guard and stand your ground. Use the strength of the Lord to boldly move forward. And do ALL of this in love! Stand firm! My prayer for you today is that this posture and power would overwhelm you so that you can have influence for Jesus in this world. As a follower of Jesus you have a mission to make more followers. Just do it! And remember, do everything in love!

Speak Lord! I need to hear you right now because I don't know the answer to this problem!! Have you ever prayed a prayer like that? Usually after a prayer like this one there is a time of resentment or anger where we wonder where God is in the midst of our difficulty. Why won't you speak Lord? Why are you so quiet? "Remember, that the teacher is always quiet during the test." When you don't hear His voice, you are in the midst of a test. Keep calling out to the Lord and drawing close to Him. You are going to gain strength and confidence because the purpose of any test from the Lord is to get closer to us. As we attempt to get closer to Him He draws close to us. Being IN CHRIST is always the answer to every question on every test. So don't fear the quiet. Don't fret when you can't see the answer. The teacher is on your side and encouraging you to trust Him. You will pass this test!

Life has a way of humbling you. You realize how much nonsense you've wasted your time on. We only have 24 hours each day to utilize to its fullest or throw away. Some time is spent on sleep and rest. Some on feeding our bodies. And even more on the job. Fact is, if you live for 75 years you you will spend 26 of those sleeping! One third of a life is used for rest. My goal these days is to not allow my days to seem mundane or routine. I want to redeem the time for what is valuable and worthwhile. To wake up everyday with a hope and an anticipation of something great that I've not yet experienced. I look for things I've never seen before...choosing a different lens to view every single moment. What are you doing with your time today? How are you spending it? Once it's gone, it's gone. Use it wisely. Don't let nonsense steal any of the minutes of your day. Quit yourself. Calm down. Be still and know that the Lord has an amazing plan for YOU. To prosper you and no…

Some time ago I preached a series called Storm Chasers. I wanted to try to help people stop getting beat up by the storms of life and the enemy that keeps coming after them. Personally, I am ready to turn the tables on the bad stuff- to reverse the curse and start chasing the evil out of my life. I have always wanted to be a storm chaser, in fact while I lived in Tulsa, my storm videos were often featured on the news. I would head into the the area where the storm was to capture the best images possible.Watching the habits and actions of a storm chaser, I realized that there are some characteristics they possess that we all need. Let me share four things you find in the DNA of a Storm Chaser. #1 They are fearless When everyone else takes cover, they take off after the eye of the storm! They run into the battle and not away from it.  #2 They are focused They eat, sleep and breathe storms. They are consumed by the activity and details of each storm and hunger for more understanding.  #…

Sometimes you just have to laugh at yourself, especially when you catch yourself doing things that you never thought you would! I have so many of those happen to me and I'm keeping them to myself! Today, in addition to a keyword to propel me to higher heights, I also have a scripture that is a reminder to keep me on course. It simply says, "whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable,  excellent or praiseworthy...THINK on these things."Phil 4:8 Personally, in order for me to do that, I need to stay away from the local news, the USA Today and any channel surfing through CNN and Fox News. There is so much happening that cannot be placed in any of the categories listed above. So I will try to stick with the plans that the Lord has for me and the path that He is preparing for me each day. Yes, there may be some difficulties and challenges but if my mind is on Him, the Bible promises me perfect peace. So now you know where my head is at. What are YOU thinking?

Proverbs 2:1 My child, listen to what I say,
 and treasure my commands 2Tune your ears to wisdom,
and concentrate on understanding. 3 Cry out for insight,
 and ask for understanding. 4 Search for them as you would for silver;
 seek them like hidden treasures 5 Then you will understand what it means to fear the LORD. Many people are unaware of how bad wisdom longs to be a part of their lives. When reading the proverbs you can see many benefits in gaining the wisdom that comes from God. Wisdom is close, ready to be summoned and ready to preserve and protect your journey.  The Good News for today is that everything you need to live a righteous life has been stored up in you if you have stayed on the right path. You have in you a special insight and ability to handle anything that comes against you. Feel confused? Listen to the Lord, treasure His counsel, tune in and concentrate. Be diligent in your pursuit of finding Gods way of doing things and you will gain the understanding you need. Follo…

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? PS 27:1 There is so much "darkness" around us these days. People struggle to break through it under their own power until they end up frustrated and exhausted. The fact is that you and I cannot defeat the enemies of our soul and eliminate the darkness on our own. We need the Lord. When we make a connection to THE LIGHT then we become a light in this dark world. Darkness must leave when the light comes. And fear has no power over us. Not because we are strong but rather because He is strong. Whatever your struggle is today, know that there is help, strength and you can be rescued: brought out of the darkness and into a marvelous light! You don't have to be afraid anymore. The prayer is a simple one....Lord, HELP!  May the Lord be YOUR light and YOUR salvation today!

‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty. Zech 4:6
There are many lessons that the Lord has taught me over the years and in this little verse is perhaps one of the most meaningful. There are just some things that cannot be done except by thepowerof the Spirit of God. There are opportunities that won’t come, relationships that won’t survive and incredible dreams that will never come to fruition unless the Spirit of God comes upon them. Too often we may believe that if we could just learn enough or work hard enough, we could be everything that is necessary to succeed in any situation. When we start to think that way, we should realize that we are becoming more selfish and inward focused. We need to be self-less instead. Our power and might are not as important as His Spirit. Take a moment right now to surrender your plans, your relationships and your dreams to the Lord. Then say this powerful declaration out loud and watch the heavens open up as the Spirit of …

Friends forever...always and in ALL ways! We have been talking about how important it is to have people in our lives that can help us get to where we need to be. Like the paralytic on the mat in Mark 2, perhaps we all need at least four people to help carry us to where we need to be.
The first two people manning a corner of our mat were occupied by FAITH and HOPE: a powerful duo that always seems to help us better ourselves and get into a position to be blessed by God. On post three, we have LOVE. Love ignites the project, the relationship, the church and keeps faith and hope alive. In fact scripture says that these three remain after all else is gone, faith, hope and love but the greatest of these is LOVE. Love covers a multitude of sins. Love never fails. Love looks for another way in when the door is crowded shut. It was love that took faith and hope to the roof. Without love, hope may have diminished and faith would have fizzled out. Love lets you imagine the best possible outcome:…