Feeling Far From God? Guess Who Moved?

I was outside with my 5 year old daughter the other day and she wanted to kick around the soccer ball. So I went outside with her and proceeded to run around the yard after this little ball. It was not very long that I was out of breath and my legs began to wear out. I always thought of myself as a pretty athletic person and never thought I would have such an issue just running around the yard kicking a ball. I came inside and mentioned to my wife that it might be time to get back into a gym. Back a few years ago, I got really serious about working out and was in the best shape I had ever been in. I was sleeping better, eating better and had so much energy that benefitted me in getting a lot more done. For some reason or another I stopped going as often and then before I knew it, I was no longer working out or doing any form of physical exercise. What had happened? I really can’t explain it any other way except I gave up. It was almost like I thought I had worked out enough and it was going to last me for the rest of my life. Well we all know that is not how it works. We have to subject our bodies to some form of activity if we want to avoid gaining weight. Which leads to more issues and can be very dangerous if we do not find a way to keep fit. Eating right, exercising and avoiding bad habits are vital to having a healthy body. I don’t think anyone would argue with me on that point….

Now, just like our physical bodies, our spirit needs to be nurtured, fed and “worked out “on a daily basis to grow and strengthen. I can remember a time in my life where I felt like I had done enough to keep me good for a long time and so I stopped studying the Word, and I stopped praying and I even stopped going to church. I had done it for most of my life so why would it not just carry over and sustain me? This action or lack of action had devastating effects on my life. It put a strain on my marriage and I was all but out of the ministry.

I had an opportunity to share salvation with someone and I could not remember key points and scriptures and I felt like a failure, just like I felt tired and out of shape when I was running around the yard with my daughter. I was in no shape to be telling anyone about God and something needed to change right away. I made a decision it was time to get back to the Gym (church) and began getting my spirit back in shape. Before long, I was remembering and being able to apply biblical principles to situations around me and for the first time in a long time, I was back on the way to being Spiritually Alive again.

I am back in the Gym now and working out on a regular basis and it’s not easy. My body is not used to this physical activity, but there will be a day when my body will be able to withstand these challenges and will be able to be strengthened and I will be running around the yard and playing with my kids without feeling like I need to lay down immediately afterwards.

James 4:8 says, “Come near to God and He will come near to you” and Jeremiah 29:13 states, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Sin always separates us from God. We are reunited with God and he comes nearer to us, by repenting from wrongs that we have done and seeking forgiveness. We are able to come boldly before his throne (face-to-face with him) and receive mercy and grace in our time of need.

One of the fastest ways to draw near to Jesus is through spending time in prayer. Getting close to God occurs when we decide to pursue the place where he dwells. Jesus retreated from the crowds of people often to lonely locations to communion with his heavenly father through prayer.

By reading God’s word he will speak to us. Drawing near to his voice in this way is an easy way of getting close to him.

If you have been feeling distant from the Lord, he is not far away. In actual fact, he has said that he will never leave you. No one can snatch you from his hands and nothing can separate you from his love. Take some to time to draw near to God right now through prayer.

If you have been feeling like you are far away from Jesus, how will you draw near to God today? The Bible declares that the Lord inhabits the praises of His people, Psalms 22:3. We enter into a place where God draws near to us, by spending time praising Him!

Can I Get a Witness?

Keith

Mustard on my Chips?

This last Friday, Graceanne and I attended our first Daddy-Daughter dance at her school. I was not really sure what to expect since I am not a dancer don’t know the first thing about dancing. Graceanne wanted to wear her favorite red dress and she was beautiful as ever. I bought a beautiful 3 rose corsage for her to wear. We took a few pictures before we left and off we went to the dance. I could tell she was a little nervous and I tried to not show my nervousness. When we arrived the parking lot was full, dispelling my initial fear that there would be only a few of us there and the entire world would be watching ME ruin the art of dance. We got out and walked up to the school and there were the Dad’s with their beautifully dressed little girls in the lobby. We signed in and were directed to stand in line for pictures. It was interesting watching the Dad’s and how some were kind of uncomfortable and how others were trying to smile without looking goofy.

The Dance started and the first thing Graceanne wanted to do was eat. She was Starving (as she put it) and nothing was going to happen until she got to eat. So we stood in the food line. Graceanne began grabbing at the pretzels, popcorn and chips and anything else she could eat right away. Of course everything on the Food table was just like that. Little mini pig in the blankets, Nacho Chips, Potato Chips, Chicken Nuggets and then the Veggie and Fruit trays, followed by Brownies, Cookies and puff pastries. I grabbed a handful of Nacho Chips and got a few spoonful’s of Salsa, and then I saw this bowl with a yellow substance ( maybe I should inform the readers that the lighting was very dim ) and I thought to myself, OOOh Nachos !!!! So I grabbed the spoon and heap a few big spoonful’s of Nacho Cheese onto my chips and hurried through the line so I could sit down and enjoy them. I sat down and took my first few bites of a few chips and thought hmm, this cheese is pretty interesting. It did not taste like any Nacho Cheese I had ever had before, but I was enjoying it and so I continued scarf them down. Then out of nowhere it hit me!!! This is not Nacho Cheese, its MUSTARD!!! After I realized what I was eating, I laughed at myself and finished off the rest of the food. The DJ then announced it was time for the first slow dance for Daughters and Dads, so Graceanne and I moved to the dance floor with all the others and had our very first dance. It was a great experience for both Graceanne and me. She had so much fun with her friends and just seeing her smile and dance and be with her friends was well worth the time of being there.

Sometimes God ask us to do things that we never think we would want to or are even capable of doing. Just like the Mustard on my Chips. I never would have put Mustard on my Chips on purpose. But after mistakenly putting them together, I realized it was a pretty good combo and enjoyed them. Throughout History there have been “mistakes” that worked out to be useful as in the two examples below:

     During World War II, in 1943, an engineer in the United States Navy(Richard James) was on a ship’s trial run. As he worked, a spring fell on the floor. It flipped-flopped and bounced around on the floor as he watched. When he got home, Richard remembered how the coiled spring flipped-flopped in an interesting way. Richard and his wife Betty took a long steel ribbon and tightly coiled it into a spiral. They started production in 1945. From that spring’s accidental fall came a toy that kids have enjoyed for over 50 years, called the Slinky.

     The Slinky isn’t electrical, no batteries are required, yet it has amazed generations of children and adults. More than 2 million Slinkies have been sold since it was invented. The only change to the Slinky since it was invented has been to crimp the ends for safety. Richard’s wife, Betty James is now the company President and the Slinky is still hopping, skipping, and bouncing across floors all over America.

     There is a lot of sand on the Earth; in fact there are millions of tons of it. In the sand chemists can pull out a chemical element called silicon. During World War II, The United States government needed rubber for airplane and truck tires, boots for soldiers, and many other uses. Rubber was difficult to get during the war because rubber came from trees that grew in Africa. Since silicon was so available, the government asked many different large companies to have their engineers try to make a rubber substitute out of silicon.

     At General Electric, in 1944, one of the engineers working with the silicon experiments was James Wright. One day he was running a test on silicon oil where he added boric acid to the oil. At the end of the test the result was a gooey blob that bounced. Unfortunately, this blob had no real use. Samples of it were sent to engineers all over the world, but no one could find any use for it, so it was forgotten about.

     Four years after the war ended, in 1949, a man by the name of Peter Hodgson thought of a use. The goo could stretch and bounce and if you pressed it against the newspaper comics, it picked up the pictures and letters. Peter decided the goo made a great toy, so he borrowed $147 to start his business, placed the goo into plastic eggs and called it "Silly Putty." At first he started selling it to adults, then after several years to children. It was one of the first "fad" toys, like the hula-hoop, Beanie Babies, and Pokemon, but after 40 years it is still amazing. It’s a toy with only one moving part and it still costs so little that almost anyone can afford it.

     Silly Putty even has some uses other than as a toy. The astronauts on Apollo 8 played with it when they got bored and used it to keep tools from floating around the capsule when in space. The Columbus Zoo used it to take hand and footprints of its gorillas in 1981. Silly Putty is even used by people doing exercises to strengthen their hand, wrist, and forearm muscles. It can even remove the lint from your clothes and the dog hair off the furniture.

Be willing to try something that does not make sense. Be a Risk Taker and allow God to do something wonderful in and through you. Peter took a Risk when he walked on Water. (Matthew 14:22-34)

A phrase comes to mind that we are all familiar with:

NOTHING VENTURED, NOTHING GAINED - “You can't get anywhere unless you're willing to take a risk. The saying dates back to Chaucer (c. 1374) and is similar to the late fourteenth century French proverb: Qui onques rien n'enprist riens n'achieva (He who never undertook anything never achieved anything) the proverb was included in John Heyword's collection of proverbs in 1546. First cited in the United States in 'Letters and Papers of Cadwallader Colden. It takes varying forms: Nothing ventured, nothing lost, nothing ventured, nothing won, etc. ." From the "Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings" by Gregory Y. Titelman (Random House, New York, 1996).

You never know, you may be one that future generations read about.

Can I get a Witness?

Keith

A month ago at this time we were preparing to go on vacation. We had saved and put money away just for the trip and had mapped out the trip.  We were prepared. Through an old credit card my wife had we were able to redeem points towards free nights in a Hotel.  We found a hotel in Indianapolis and booked it.  Everything was looking great for our trip.  We had gone to the Apple store to see about getting one of the new iPad2’s and were able to get on a list to expedite it because Heidi has her own business.  We were hoping to get the iPad for our trip.  We were leaving on Thursday and were waiting to get a call from the Apple Store.  Monday came and went, Tuesday came and went and Wednesday came and went without any word.  Finally on Thursday morning, just hours before we were planning to leave, the Apple store called and informed us that our new iPad2 was in and we could come pick it up.  We were elated.  We were really looking forward to being able to use it on our trip to Shreveport. We got it home and I had it charged, connected, registered and ready to go before we headed out on our Trip. 

We drove to Indianapolis and stayed the night and got up Friday morning bright and early for our 13 + hour drive to Shreveport.  All the way using our new iPad2 and having a good time.  I was especially excited about this new device because I was going to get to use it when I was speaking at Life Tabernacle and TLC Ministry.  We made it into Shreveport about 8:30 pm and we were tired but most important, very hungry. We decided to go straight to a restaurant instead of my parent’s home first.  We got to the restaurant and I moved a few items from the front seat to the back of the car and we ate dinner. We got to my parents about 10:30 pm  and I told Heidi , don’t worry about getting stuff out of the car, just take care of the kids and I will unload the car.  I went outside to start unloading the car and there was Heidi with the Back open and pulling things out of the car. I noticed she was not sounding very happy ( I thought she was just tired form the trip ) but my eyes became fixed on a Light on the ground.  As I got closer I heard her say the iPad fell and I saw it now on the ground.  I picked it up and discovered that the new iPad2 is not made of Shatter resistant Materials……  Yes, our Brand new ( 1 day old ) iPad2 was shattered and broken.  Heidi was very upset and went into the house.  I am not sure if I was in shock or what but for some reason, I did not get overly excited or angry.  I simply said to her, it will be ok, it will work out.  (At that moment , I was trying to carefully figure out not only what I was going to do about the iPad but how I was going to handle Heidi. )  At that moment I realized that no matter what had happened, this was going to have to be my fault.  Heidi was visibly upset and understandably so. 

The questions begin to start popping in your head… Why did this happen, how could God allow this?  ( I know it is just a stupid iPad, but still ) One of us had to be calm while the other got the frustration out of their system.  After exploring all possible avenues for a solution, we decided to just put the iPad away and get on with our vacation.

I had the opportunity to Minister in Song at Celebration Church on Sunday morning and then spoke at Life Tabernacle and TLC Ministry later in the week.  What a fantastic time of ministry all three events.  I had the opportunity to incorporate the Account of our iPad2 incident into both of my messages and people were very encouraging and in agreement with us that it would all work out. 

When we got back home from our trip we called the Apple store and made an appointment with a Mac Tech.  We loaded up the kids in the car and headed off to the Apple Store and to be honest with you, not sure of what we were going to encounter. But we had both agreed that regardless of what they said, we were not going to be angry.  We walked into the store and we met with our tech and explained what had happened and he took the iPad and went in the back. He came out a few times, talked to a few people and went back into the back room.   After about 10 minutes, he came out with a White box in his hands.  He begin to tell us that they had one in the Manager’s office exactly like the one we had purchased and that they were going to give us the new one at no charge as a onetime exception.   WHAT!!!!  Really????   I looked at Heidi and I began to tear up as I could only utter the words PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!!!!  We both at that moment realized just how much God loved us and He simply cares about the little things.  Before we went to the Apple store that afternoon we agreed in prayer that there would be a good outcome, but we truthfully did not expect to leave the store with a brand new iPad2 without having to pay for repairs. 1 John 5:14-15 has new meaning with us now… 

“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” - 1 John 5:14-15

No matter what you are going through or facing… God knows and cares.  No matter how big or how small.  It is my prayer that each of us are able to understand that simple fact and allow God to perform a work in each of our hearts. 

Can I Get a Witness?

Keith