Much of my early life was spent learning how to act like a Christian. On Sundays, I would put on a nice outfit and do my best to show people how godly I was. I did really well acting like a Christian. The biggest problem was that I would go back to being myself after church. I was an angel on Sundays and a hellion the rest of the week.

The fact was that even though I had accepted Jesus, I didn’t accept Him into every area of my life. It was like me telling Him, “You can have this part of my life, but I really like these sins over here, so don’t mess with those.” That’s not the way to live the blessed and abundant life God wants for us.

When we truly break down the worldly barriers to accepting Christ, the bible says that we will be transformed into His image. (2 Cor. 3:18) The original word used for ‘transformed’ is the Greek word metamorpho, which is where we get our English word metamorphosis. I like knowing this because it says to us that accepting Christ is like a caterpillar changing into a butterfly. We are made brand new, with all of our old sins and pain washed away by the blood of Jesus.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” – 2 Corinthians 5:17

In your life’s journey, please remember that we need to BE like Christ towards all people rather than to just act like Him when it suits our needs. Kindness, peacefulness, and love aren’t just for Sundays. Break down your internal walls and let Jesus into your heart. Easier said than done sometimes, but your reward will be greater than you can possibly imagine.

DH

In Luke chapter 9, we read about Jesus feeding the 5000 with 2 fishes and 5 loaves of bread. Jesus blessed the meal and then handed out pieces to everyone. After they all got their fill, they picked up the scraps that were left over and they filled 12 wicker baskets.

In our lives, we are blessed everyday. If you have a warm meal, a safe place to sleep, or even if you simply woke up this morning, you have been blessed by the Lord. The disciples and people following Jesus were blessed by getting the loaves, but what about the scraps?

God said He would bless those who love Him and that He’d do it abundantly. The things we see as being good are definitely blessings, but so are the bad. We focus on the big things, the loaves. What we don’t see are the scraps. The small portions of blessings that we are given daily.  All of those little irritations and annoyances we experience everyday are occasions for us to cultivate holiness in our lives.

Stuck in traffic? Try thanking God that you have a vehicle or somewhere you are needing to go.  The waiter serves you a cold meal? Thank God you have the means to purchase a meal.  Children needing your help on homework? Thank God you have children and have their trust enough for them to ask you for help.

These are the little scraps of holiness we take for granted everyday. You may not have thought about it before, but you woke up today, which make this the perfect opportunity to give God something you didn’t give Him yesterday. Thank Him for the scraps.

DH

I have a long drive to and from work everyday. Its a farm road, kind of bumpy, with a lot of hills and turns to it. As I’m driving, I see only a small portion of the long road ahead.  What I don’t see is the end of my journey.

This is much like our Christian existence in that our roads through life are never flat, simple, and without problems and twists. We end up having a discouraged attitude and little peace of mind during our travels because we don’t see the end of our trip. All we see and feel are the rough spots in the road. We long for the happiness waiting for us when we get to where we are going.

God gave us the Bible and His Spirit so that we could know what the end and the reason for our life long journey is. This life is about coming to know Him, love Him, and serve Him so we can be happy with Him in Heaven for all eternity.

So next time life gets bumpy, just know that even though you don’t see the end of the journey, Jesus is waiting there for us with our eternal reward.  His arms stretched out, ready to welcome us home.  Forever.

DH

My Emma is growing up to be a great and Godly woman. All of my girls are already filled with the Holy Spirit and that blesses myself and my wife on a daily basis.

Below is Emma’s first sermon and she hopes that you enjoy it:

 

Jesus chose a path for us all.  He made each one of us unique to show everyone else that we are not just another piece of garbage.  We are a ‘somebody’, and that somebody has talents that will one day change the world.  That somebody also has a purpose. That purpose is to be brave, strong, and courageous.

As said in the Bible, there are three things you need to have.  Faith, hope, and love.  But the most important one is love. Don’t listen and don’t worry about what other people think of you and your actions. Just worry about what God has to say about you and your personality.

Jesus is the way. All you have to do is believe.

EMH

The night that Jesus was raised from the dead, He appeared to his disciples and said, “Peace be with you. Just as the Father sent Me, I send you.”  (John 20:21)  That is a very important statement to us about our mission here in this life. Christ came to “set the captives free,” meaning those who have been imprisoned by sin and death.

 

The motto of the US Army Special Forces is ‘De Oppresso Liber’ which means ‘To free the Oppressed’, and there is nobody more oppressed than someone who is a slave to sin. We are Christ’s special forces group. We have been commissioned by Jesus in Matthew 28 to go forth and spread the gospel. We need to be sharp and highly trained for such a mission. Prayer is our weapon and faith is our shield. When we help someone learn about Jesus, our actions are saving someone’s eternal life and countless lives beyond that.

 

This Easter, think about the empty tomb and what Jesus did for us all.  In dying He destroyed our death, in rising He restored our life.  The importance of His mission can’t be stressed enough.  Now it’s our mission to let people know about it.

 

DH

In Matthew 5:6, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”  It is natural for us to crave things.  Many times, I’ve heard people say that it’s been a rough day and that they need a drink.  I reply with the question, “How many times have you said that about Jesus?”

 

We are thirsting for the wrong things.  Some people consume too much alcohol and get caught while being “under the influence.”  I say to you that we as Christians need to be under the influence more often, not influenced by alcohol or drugs, but by the Holy Spirit.  Let Jesus direct your steps and your interactions amongst people.  Being influenced by the Spirit gives you true clarity, a sober mind, and the ability to walk in the power and favor of God.

 

Have you ever seen a drunk person smiling, even when the situation didn’t dictate it?  We as Christians should be the same way, smiling out of sheer joy for the Lord and His blessings.   If you have happiness, it is dictated by circumstances.  If you have true joy, it is a gift from God and keeps you peaceful in the midst of troubled times.  Jesus wants you to be joyful, not just happy.  God loves you.  When you know you are loved, it is easier to love others and yourself.

 

So before leaving the house in the morning or before doing anything that you do, take a sip.  Be thirsty for God’s righteousness.  Jesus is the true water of life.  Take and drink of His Holy Spirit, and take as much as you want.

 

DH

In Exodus 17, the people of Israel were fighting a war. As long as Moses kept his hands up and prayed, the battle would go well. If his hands fell, the Israelites would start to loose. So, Arron and Hur would help lift up the hands of Moses to keep him praying. Eventually, the Israelites won the war.

 

We all get tired sometimes and fall. We may even hit some dry spells in our prayer and Christian life. That’s when the rest of us need to be lifting them up in prayer so we can all continue to fight the battle.

 

Just because you fail sometimes, that doesn’t make you a failure. No matter how strong we are or how holy we think we have become, we can always backslide if we aren’t careful. The devil is a tough opponent, but one we are promised we will defeat as long as we stick close to Jesus.

 

So let us not cease to pray for one another and together we will be victorious.  In Jesus’ name.

 

DH

Psalm 23 is a commonly read scripture. It goes, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside still waters…”  If you are not familiar with this verse, I encourage you to please read this. It is beautiful.

 

There is one part that many people read, but don’t clue in on. “You prepare a table in the presence of my enemies.”  This is saying that God isn’t going to take your troubles and your enemies away from you completely.  Instead, God is going to bless you in the midst of your troubles.  Food is meant to sustain you so you can keep up fighting the good fight.

 

Don’t worry when troubles come your way. We all are given problems to fight through. Just know the old saying that if God brings you to it, He will bring you through it. This is one of many scriptures that make that promise.

 

God is for you and not against you. He will not only sustain you, but will make you a champion. Don’t avoid the enemies, because they need to be present for you to eat the banquet that the Lord has in store for you.

 

DH

In Luke chapter 19, Jesus is passing through Jericho when He happened upon a tax collector named Zacchaeus.  There was such a crowd that Zacchaeus had to climb a tree just to see Jesus walk by. Jesus saw him and said, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down. Today I must stay at your house.” It says that Zacchaeus came down immediately and received Jesus joyfully.

 

Zacchaeus is a representation of ourselves in that, though we are sinners, we are accepted by Christ. Our problem is that many things of this world keep us from seeing Jesus for who He is.  Sometimes we need to “climb a tree” just to get over the problems that keep us from getting to God.

 

Jesus says for us to “make haste.” The time to accept Christ is now. The Bible says that today is the day of salvation. Tomorrow is not promised to anyone. NOW is the accepted time to receive Jesus joyfully so that, just like Zacchaeus, you can hear Jesus say those wonderful words to you,  “Today, salvation has come to this house.”

 

DH

For many years now, I’ve spent many of my waking hours in an office environment.  In the office, I would see pictures on desks of families, friends, and vacations.  I realized that I never took the time to stop and think about the person taking the picture.

 

Whoever held the camera thought that it was the perfect time to snap the picture and keep that particular moment for the rest of the world to see.  The Bible is much like that, in that it is a collection of snapshots that God thought was important enough to show everyone.  It’s not the whole story or even a concise, day-by-day rundown.  Only snapshots.  Frames capturing a moment in time that the “man behind the camera” knew was important for us to see.

 

As we read the Bible, take the time to think about the passage, the author, and what they were trying to convey.  People will only show you parts to their life, and existence that they want you to see.  So why was that passage in scripture important to the “man behind the camera?”  God could have used hundreds of situations, parables, stories, or anything to get His point across to you.  Why did He pick that one?

 

In the end of the book of John, it says that the world could not contain the amount of books it would take to record all of the things Jesus said and did.  The stories, or “snapshots”, of Jesus that were recorded in the Bible must have been extra important to God.  Those were the times and situations God really wants you to remember.

 

DH