As Pastor Shaun was preaching this week in Acts – I was looking at my study bible and there was a page explaining Great Escapes in the Bible.   It was referencing some the Great People in the Bible and had three sections to it:

1. What happened?   2. What the escape accomplished.   3. Application.

I would like to share the Application portion of this list – it shows in their weakness God used them.   But before I go any further I want you to know that I did listen to Shaun’s sermon:   It was about Saul’s encounter with Jesus on his way to Damascus.
So here are a few of the examples listed:

• Jacob – A time away from home often puts the really important things into perspective.
• Moses – God fits even our mistakes into His plan.
• Spies (Joshua) – God’s plan weaves lives together in a pattern beyond our understanding.
• Ehud – Punishments by God are often swift and deadly.
• Sampson – Without dependence on God and His guidance, even great ability is wasted.
• Elijah – Even at moments of real success, our personal weaknesses are our greatest challenges.
• Saul (Paul) – God has a purpose for every life, which leads to a real adventure for those willing to cooperate.
• Peter – God can use extraordinary means to carry out His plan – often when we least expect it.
• Paul and Silas – When our dependence and attention are focused on God rather than our problems, He is able to offer help in unexpected ways.

So as you can see God used all of these people in a powerful way even though each of them has weaknesses to overcome.   Like these heroes of the faith – we also have the same issues (weaknesses) as they did and God can do great works through us because of them. We just need to listen and be obedient to what He is asking us to do. I like number 7 – not that I want to experience a Paul adventure but I know he has a purpose for me and I just need to be cooperative.

Can you identify the weakness that God can use to accomplish a powerful work through you?  Remember we just need to be Obedient to His calling.

We all have them…..

Bobbyg

As I get closer to the 2017 GMM Conference I get to meet with allot of Pastors.   I am blessed and inspired when I get to visit with them about the Conference but also about how they are doing.   Most of them are doing great but there are some that Satan seems to have target on them and their families.
A wise Pastor friend of mine once stated where there are people there are always the few that seem to be the traditional thorn in the side (at one time I may have been one of them). The problems always vary:

1. I do not like the change in the bulletin.
2. I do not like the way some people dress.
3. To the hard ones is where a Pastor’s family member may be targeted with some very bad comments from a Lay Person inside the church.

The list can go on…………………………………
In the last several years one of my Acts of Worship is to fall under the Leadership of my Church no matter if my ideas are different.   Below is why….
We as Lay People of the Church must change and start focusing on winning souls for Christ and give up all the petty stuff. At our GMM Conference we have come up with 5 items that we expect each person to leave with:
D E P T H

1. Deeper > relationship with Christ
2. Encouragement > from community and Holy Spirit
3. Passion > renewed, contagious, celebrating your gifts and talents
4. Team > Band of Brothers, Unity in Community
5. Home Church > daily bread and execution vehicle, pastors’ passions

This can also pertain to what we can expect from our Home Church:

1. We should be growing in such a way that our relationship with Christ is becoming Deeper each day.
2. We should be filled with the Holy Spirit and He should be active with in us.
3. We should have a personality that is so passionate that it becomes contagious and people what to know why. JESUS
4. We should be united as one body and one church – there should be no divisions….   UNITY
5. This is the one that I really like to push:   Supporting our Pastors… God has given them a Vision and it is our responsibility to help make this successful.   Remember God is doing a Great work through them.

 

So are you the Thorn in the side of your Pastor!!!! If you are then change and become the helpmate God has made you to be in making your Pastor’s vision successful.   TODAY>>

Bobbyg
 

There was an article in this morning’s paper from a local pastor that got my blood boiling and I just wanted to shout “You are Wrong”. The name of the Article was “All Christians must show love, not hate” – well this sounds like a great article to read (so I read it). You need to know that most of the articles that this Pastor writes I cannot read because of my anger issues (The Lion comes out) so I avoid even glancing through them.
But as normal this Pastor did his thing….   He is condemning Christians for speaking out in what they believe.   A couple of his comments were: “Double, double, toil and Trouble” – “Most of the trouble will come from self-identified Christians”.   Then he goes on to slam Christians for saying “We hate the sin but love the sinner”.   This Pastor was trying to silence Christians in speaking out on what they believe the truth to be.   OK now you can see I should not have read this article as I normally do not.
 
I know God works in some great ways in speaking the truth to me and after I read the article I went to church and listened to Pastor Shaun’s sermon. The first part of the scripture he shared was from Acts 8: 1>3 – On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.
Well this reminded me of this Pastor that wrote the article.   Saul was also trying to silence all the Christians for speaking out in what they believed in. But as the rest of the story goes Saul will meet up with the Real Jesus and hears His truth. That is when he becomes Paul and becomes one of the most powerful messengers of Jesus.
 
So my prayer at this point has to be that this Local Pastor will have a Jesus experience and hear the real truth.   I know that we as Christian must be in prayer constantly to the false teachings out there that Satan is filtering through what seems to be good people. (So please pray for this pastor as I will being doing the same.)
 
One of the songs today was “God is Not Dead” by the News Boys and the chorus is: [button link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_OTz-lpDjw” type=”big” newwindow=”yes”] God’s Not Dead[/button]

My God’s not dead

He’s surely alive

He’s living on the inside

Roaring like a lion

So I would like to conclude with why I named this blog “Roaring like a Lion!” We should never let anyone intimidate us into not speaking out in what we believe to be the truth.   Let no one silence us by explaining to everyone that what we say is Hate Speech (It is not).   We should be ROARING like a Lion and letting people know what Jesus has taught us. Always remember to: “Love your neighbor as yourself – but we can speak out in what we believe”.
Bobbyg
 
 
 
 
[button link=”http://weareharvest.com/” type=”big” newwindow=”yes”] Harvest Church[/button]

In the last several months I have encountered people who are seeking answers which would include me.

• • As my new season of life (retirement) is evolving and I encounter some of the new struggles of this new adventure.   When the question comes up where is God going to take me and I do not have an answer.
  • I have a Son who is by himself and he struggles with the loneliness that is part of being Single.
  • A good friend has Cancer and this has put a great deal of uncertainty in the life of the entire immediate family.
  • Another Son who bought a business (Gray Hair showing now) and the question of what does his future look like.
  • Struggling relationships – how do we fix them.
• The list can go on…

 
These are really big concerns for people where there may not be an immediate answer to any of them.   But it brings me back to a song from:
Lauren Daigle – Trust In You
The chorus explains allot about what it may feel like and at the same time giving us the answer:   We must trust in Him (Jesus) – the rest of the Lyrics are at the bottom:
 

When You don’t move the mountains

I’m needing You to move

When You don’t part the waters

I wish I could walk through

When You don’t give the answers

As I cry out to You

I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in You

Enjoy the song   [button link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_aVFVveJNs” type=”big” newwindow=”yes”] Trust in You[/button]  
I have written about this song in a previous blog but it is a great time to bring it back. When we do not have the answers to all of the issues that are arising in our life – we just need to turn to Jesus and trust in Him.
He will:

• • Work with us in our new season of life.
  • He will be our companion – we just need to ask him to be our Savior and we will never feel the loneliness of being single.
  • He will be with us through the really tough times of having Cancer.
  • He will take our worries away of what the future looks like.
  • He is the healing part of any struggling relationship…
• We just need to trust in Jesus…

 

What are your big questions in life and are you trusting in Jesus!

 
Bobbyg
 

Letting go of every single dream

I lay each one down at Your feet

Every moment of my wandering

Never changes what You see

I try to win this war

I confess, my hands are weary, I need Your rest

Mighty warrior, king of the fight

No matter what I face You’re by my side

 

When You don’t move the mountains

I’m needing You to move

When You don’t part the waters

I wish I could walk through

When You don’t give the answers

As I cry out to You

I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in You

 

Truth is, You know what tomorrow brings

There’s not a day ahead You have not seen

So let all things be my life and breath

I want what You want Lord and nothing less

 

When You don’t move the mountains

I’m needing You to move

When You don’t part the waters

I wish I could walk through

When You don’t give the answers

As I cry out to You

I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in You

I will trust in You

 

You are my strength and comfort

You are my steady hand

You are my firm foudation

The rock on which I stand

Your ways are always higher

Your plans are always good

There’s not a place where I’ll go

You’ve not already stood

 

When You don’t move the mountains

I’m needing You to move

When You don’t part the waters

I wish I could walk through

When You don’t give the answers

As I cry out to You

I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in You

I will trust in You

I will trust in You

This is a great question….   When I talked to the Young man Garret who does a College Ministry on the Fort Collins Campus – I asked him how he approaches the young adults he comes into contact with. Garret stated that one of the ways he starts a conversation is to ask this Question: “Where to you think you would go when you die?” If they respond it starts a great conversation where he can explain Heaven and Hell and how to be saved….     What a way to evangelize – I wish I had Garret’s boldness, but it is great to see our young people energized is sharing their faith.
 
This weekend I joined my family in the mountains to finalize my Dad’s funeral – He passed away in January.   We have a spot in the mountains where most of us will be laid to rest and we have set up a memorial in honor of my Parents. The best part of this is: We know where my parents are because of their faith.   My dad and mom at the end of their days had broken bodies and broken minds. I know that they now have a New Spiritual Body/Mind that works and they are rejoicing in Heaven.   AMEN
As a family of faith it is extremely comforting to know that Heaven is where we spend eternity.  But for my family members that have gone astray I need to have the Boldness that Garret has and ask them the question. “When you die are you going to Heaven or Hell?   Because of my Dad and Mom they will understand the consequences of their decisions.   We can have the assurance of eternal life in Heaven if we just trust in Jesus…. They need to know this….

“LIVING THE LEGACY!”

So where are you when it comes to evangelizing and especially to family members?

Are you asking the question to those around you?

Where are you going when you DIE?

Now is a great time to start!

 
Bobbyg
 

Pastor Shaun’s sermon yesterday was about Serving and he shared the scripture about Jesus washing the Disciple’s feet. This is one of the most powerful examples of Servant hood in the Bible.

Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet: in John 13:

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

***There is allot more to this scripture before and after these verses, but I wanted to share this portion of the powerful act that Jesus was performing.
 
I was thinking about all of this and then how I could serve the people that surround me. I came up with a couple of items, and I will be searching for more as the week goes forward.

1. A friend has been diagnosed with Cancer – I can make a dinner for him and his family.
2. I have been helping my brother because of a surgery, but the best thing that I could do is spend some time with him.
3. “Time” is a big factor when I look at how I can be a servant and that becomes a hindrance in what I do.   I need to refocus on what matters and help when the needs come up no matter how long it takes.

 
I was looking at the response from the Disciples as Jesus was beginning to wash their feet – they had a difficult time in allowing Jesus to serve them. I believe we do the same today.   When someone is wanting to help us – we seem to shy away from being served (Pride most of the time).   I like the wisdom someone gave me a long time ago…..   “Do not deprive the person who is trying to bless you or you will ruin their Blessing!”
 
So if you look around:

Is there anyone that you can be a servant too?

Are you accepting the blessing that someone is trying to give you?

Remember Jesus is working through all of us on becoming a Servant…

 
**I am going to finish with this scripture:   Matthew 20: 26>28.
Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,   and whoever wants to be first must be your slave — just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Bobbyg
 

I normally do not get into politics in my Blogs. But I do want to touch on a topic that I have been seeing lately and it impresses me as I see Christians talking about their beliefs.
As you know the United States of America that we live in has become extremely divided in Morality issues from a Christian’s view point. For so long we as Christians have set back and not spoken out because we have been told we need to be Tolerant…. I want you to know that I believe the Tolerance that has been preached is harmful and the Morality Issues that Christians disagree with have become normalized because of it.  I am one who has been guilty of not “SPEAKING OUT”.
 
Last week I had the pleasure of sitting down with a young man (Garret) who is doing a Ministry on the Colorado State University Campus. He stated that the Holy Spirit has prompted him to start speaking out about Jesus and so he is doing that on the CSU Campus (His boldness is inspiring).   That was a WOW moment to see young people stepping out of their comfort zone and “SPEAKING OUT”.
There have also been allot of articles in the local newspaper from Christians talking about what they believe in and disagreeing with some local issues that are going to be presented to our City Council.   I attended a Ward 2 meeting last night with 3 of the Councilmen and Mayor Orr.   The Topic of the SOGI ordinance came up and several people expressed their opposition to the Ordinance (not the people). During the meeting it was stated by some that this is the way the country is going so we just need to keep up with the times.   OUCH>>>>>
 
My question is:   Is it too late to start speaking out about our Christian beliefs in order to change what is happening in our world or can we speak out and make a difference? GREAT QUESTION:
I have to believe from what I am seeing with Christians “SPEAKING OUT” is that it is starting to have an impact.   The Leadership are starting to open up their doors to listen to what is being said and it is impacting those who are pushing the issue that we disagree with.   So it is working – keep it up….
We must remember as we are “SPEAKING OUT” it must be done in a peaceful manner and Jesus must be working through us to show our Love for our Neighbors.

So are you “SPEAKING OUT” to let others know what you believe?

Now is the time to start….

 
Bobbyg

I have been reading the book “Grace Walk” by Steve McVey and it has enlightened me on how we make Rules to be better Christians. Today’s Christian walk can be dictated by several different entities such as: 1. The Church – 2. Other Christians – 3. Myself  – 4. The Media.           We seem to need these extra rules in order to feel like we are living the Christian life – but we forget that the Christian walk is supposed to be easy and not built on allot of rules (Read below).
 
I went to Cowboy Church this last Sunday and the speaker spoke along the same topic and used this scripture from Paul.

Freedom From Human Rules

Colossians 2: 16-23 > Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.

Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

Paul lays it out really good in this scripture – Christ is our guidance now…..
 
I have been one to lay down rules for myself in belief that it would make me a better Christian. For Example:

1. I must go to Church every Sunday!!!   If I go to church every Sunday under this belief, I feel sorry for the person sitting next to me – he will experience a negative person.   I go to Church now because I am excited to hear Pastor Shaun’s message and I like to fellowship with most of the people there.
2. I always felt guilty because I had not read the whole Bible!! I finally set down one year and did it. I have to tell you it was just reading and it did not have much of an impact on me.   I have learned that there needs to be this desire to Learn about the History in the Old Testament and a Hunger to learn about Jesus in the New Testament. If I read from this aspect it has a life changing impact on me.
3. I must sit down and have a set quiet time during the day to pray and study!!   I have to tell you that when I do this, I normally fall to sleep. I personally have learned to take Prayer Walks and focus on Praying throughout the day – and then set down during the day when times are calmer and read.   It works for me…

As you can see – there is a perception that I put upon myself that did not work – I needed to have a desire and passion to do each of these.   The more my Relationship grows with Jesus – the more the Holy Spirit supplies the emotions that are life changing.
 
In the book Grace Walk on the back of the cover it has a note:

Nothing you have ever done, nothing you could ever do, will match the incomparable joy of letting Jesus live His life through you. It is what makes the fire of passion burn so brightly in new believers. And it is what causes the light of contentment to dance in the eyes of mature believers who have learned the secret of Grace Walk.

AMEN!!!!
**Now do not get me wrong – there will be trials as we live the Christian Life, but we must always remember that Jesus is there walking and directing us through it all. Remember to let the Holy Spirit guide you as you go forward……  When we walk in Obedience to Jesus – contentment comes.
Bobbyg
 

I have been on vacation with my Grandkids for a couple of weeks and we included their parents on one of the weeks – LOL.   If you are a Papa or Nana you will understand that joy is in being with grandkids.
 
About a month ago Pastor Shaun was sharing his vision of what our church should look like and it came from:

Acts 2:42 > The Fellowship of the Believers:    They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

There are four parts to the vision of what the church should look like.

• Teaching

• Fellowship

• Breaking of Bread

• Prayer

 
I took these teaching and really looked at how I could incorporate them into my daily living and also looking at how they can be included into the GMM Team. So as I was looking back on my vacation with my Grandkids I pondered on how each of these were present in our time together.   The Breaking of Bread was easy – we ate together allot and enjoyed our conversations at each of them.   Prayer is something we may have missed more than usual but my grandkids pray at meals using the Alphabet.  We stayed at a mountain resort so I enjoyed some great prayer walks.
But there is one story that I would like to share on Teaching and Fellowship.   While we were visiting my youngest son in Spearfish my daughter in-law had one of those GEO Cash programs on her phone so we decided to go find one. It had a hint of magnetic and the coordinates will take you to within a few feet of the GEO Marker.   Well it took us to this bench along the Spearfish River where there was a couple sitting and no one wanted to bother them. So we searched everywhere else but the correct spot….
 
    “Now comes the question: “How do you meet people you do not know?”  Some people avoid making any contact with strangers and never get to really know the people around them and there are others that find a way to connect – “Fellowship with people”.
 
I am not one to be overly bold about meeting others around me – but this couple was sitting on our GEO Cash – so I took the chance at meeting a stranger. I have to tell you, they were really pleasant about meeting us and we had a great talk. When we explained to them that they may be sitting on our adventurous find – they let us look….   It was there….. They were as excited as us. WOW
 
My grandkids came to me and said Papa everyone says that we should have left them alone… My response to them was:  “If we had never met them then they would not have gotten to enjoy the adventure with us”. There are times that we should not interrupt a stranger, but the Holy Spirit is there to guide us at the moments when we can. This was a great moment…
 
So looking at the four aspects of Acts 2:42 >

How do you incorporate them into your life?

Do you Fellowship with People in front of you?

Are you listening to the Holy Spirit when he says to go and say HI?

 
Bobbyg

Today my wife shared an article with me that she found on Facebook that she really wanted me to see…   As usual it took a while for her to get me pass my Hmmmm’s and Uhmmmmm’s to get me to pay attention to what she wanted to show me.   I complained about the Web site being to slow and probably messing up our computer and then she got discouraged and walked off.   (OK – I did it again – I did not pay attention).
Well after getting the article into a format that I could read and concentrate on, she was right (don’t tell her that) – this is a great article on the battle for our Wife’s. The author wrote down a list of vows that he was going to work on. Below is his article…   I have underlined a few of them that I liked… but I really need to work on some of the others….     Enjoy the article…   Bobbyg
 
Fighting For My Wife: By Timothy Willard  –  You will need to read the whole article to understand why he wrote these vows  – so please look it up (http://www.timothywillard.com/)
So, I vow …

• To love big, and stay small. Doing what I need to do to keep the humility of Christ ever in my heart.
• To get off my devices and be present for my wife and children.
• To let her see me turn away from images I know my heart can’t handle.
• To guard my heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
• To get into the wilderness regularly. Not just with dudes, but with God. (This is a must for men – Bobbyg)
• To seek quiet, stillness, and solitude. To let it breathe through me and into my household.
• To show my ladies the value in a good fire, a yummy s’more, and a terrifying ghost story.
• To not give in to the rat-race of busy-ness, and be home—not just sitting around, but doing, building, playing, laughing, failing, singing, cooking, loving.
• To work harder at being a husband and dad than I do at my job.
• To let the blows of God mold me. For when I am in his hands, I am my best self.
• To make play with my girls and wife more important than watching football.
• To never let my mind get weak by the amusement and entertainment the world flings at me on an hourly basis.
• To be active in my church.
• To spiritually pastor and lead my household by initiating times of prayer, Bible reading, and worship.
• To let praise, to God and to my ladies, be ever on my lips.
• To try new things so that I will never stagnate.
• To give my wife every opportunity to shine: in her home, in front of her daughters, in front of her friends, in front of her parents.
• To buy her that expensive chair, and then sit with her in quiet, reading praying, and dreaming.
• To defer whatever power I might think I have to God, and to my wife.
• To not fuss over things that don’t matter. Like where we eat after church, or what should hang on the wall, or what movie to watch.
• To live as a shield for my wife and pixies—to take on pain, so they won’t have to.
• To let my wife know I live, laugh, and sleep with the real Wonder Woman. J
• To empower my wife’s gifts with my own.
• To let her see me cry. (Really tough one for me – Bobbyg)

 

• To kiss her just because.
• To kiss her again, just because.
• And again.
• To be honest, to seek truth, but always with a spirit of love and encouragement.
• To have the French Press hot when she walks down the stairs.
• To let her know how much I learn from her.
• To rub her arm in church.
• To confess to her during communion.
• To speak to her with a heavenly tone, and with words that make the angels cry with jealousy.
• To be a warrior-poet for my girls—by setting standards, not just rules, by warding off culture’s constant voice with the sword of my imagination, and by winning the fight for their hearts with a holiness I seek like silver.
• To YAWP for my wife; in triumph, in pain, in ecstasy, so we never forget the ferocity of life, and the God who makes it so.
• To die. To my self. To my passions. To my lust. Over and over. As many times as it takes.