Viewing 1 - 2 out of 2 Blogs.

I listened to a message from Adrian Rogers titled, “The Keys to a Beautiful Life”, Pastor Rogers taught out of Acts Chapter 3 and I learned a lot that I want to share with all of my friends and loved ones. Today I speak to you about the story of the crippled man in Acts Chapter 3 who was lame from his mother’s womb and could not walk his ankle bones had not developed, he could not work, he could not worship. Every day he would be carried to the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful to ask for alms which means money or goods given in charity to the poor. A man deformed was considered unclean and could not enter the Beautiful gate, he was on the wrong side of a beautiful life. Peter and John were about to enter the temple and the lame man expecting alms turned his attention to them, Peter said “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” His feet and ankle bones received strength, he began leaping, walking and praising God while he entered the temple with Peter and John. This was a miracle of healing, a sign, a miracle with a message. The man is a representation of us all who are spiritually and morally crippled by birth because we are without Jesus in our lives. This man was forty years of age living on the wrong side of the gate, he needed a touch from Almighty God, a spiritual touch not a physical touch.

The miracles performed by Jesus were all brought to us with messages. Jesus healing the blind really means how he can heal the spiritually blind for the Bible says, “... except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of Heaven...” Jesus healing the deaf means how he can heal those who are spiritually deaf for the Bible says, “... men have ears but they do not hear...” Jesus raising the dead really means how he can heal those of us who are spiritually dead, without Christ we are all dead and we trespass in sin. The significance of Jesus raising the dead says in the Bible, “... I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly...” Peter said silver and gold I do not have, but I have something better to give to you, he gave the lame man Jesus! There is not a gift better than that and silver and gold can not compare to the beautiful life that you can enter in when you have Jesus, for without Jesus you are on the wrong side of the gate.

And in the inside of the temple, all the people ran to see this filled with wonder and amazement for they knew this man was the one who was daily outside the Beautiful gate begging alms, and now here he is, healed, leaping with joy, dancing, praising God. Peter says, “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this?” Then he said why do you look so intently at us as though by our own power or godliness we made this man walk. He says Jesus did this! The Jesus you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when Pilate was determined to let Jesus go, Peter says you denied the Holy One and the Just and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Prince of Life, whom God raised from the dead. Through His name, through faith in His name, has this man been made strong. And this miracle can not be humanly denied, can not be humanly explained, and can not be lightly dismissed.

The message of this Chapter says to us, Jesus still lives. Though you may deny Him, he still lives. And people are sadly mistaken when they think that they can get God out of schools, off of money and what ever else. Because you can’t get rid of Jesus. The murderer that was granted to be let free is a portrait, a picture of every unsaved man, woman, boy or girl in this world. This man’s name was Barabbas, he was a thief, he was a rebel, and he was a murderer. So it is, every man without Jesus Christ is a thief... well you say... but, “I don’t steal!” This is the incredible reality that you do not see, you are blinded, if you have not given God the Glory, if you have not submitted your life to God, you have robbed Him of that Glory which is due to His Holy Name... picture this... you live here on this earth, you walk God’s green earth at that, you breath God’s pure air, receive God’s sunshine and God’s rain, you eat God’s food, and yet God is not your Lord and you do not serve Him, you have STOLEN from God! Also, you are a rebel against God. When you refuse God, it isn’t merely that you have missed out on a blessing... unbelief is a clenched fist in the face of God. Basically you are saying if there be a God at all you aren’t Big enough to make me serve you... I am my own God, I am going to live my own life. You may repent your sins and think well at least I have not killed anyone, well guess what...??? YES, you have, you are a murderer. You killed the son of God, you choose Barabbas , but it is never Christ and Barabbas, it is always Christ or Barabbas. Matthew 12:30 states that, “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.” It was ours sins that nailed Jesus Christ to the cross, our hard hearts. Still to this day when we sin it is like crucifying Him once more, driving the nails in a little deeper, as if the first time was just not enough to make you realize just how much you are loved by Jesus. If you don’t crown Him you crucify Him. It was are sins that crucified Him and we are implicated in His murder.

Peter goes on to say in Acts Chapter 3, I know that you did this in ignorance as did your rulers. But God has fulfilled what was foretold by the mouths of Prophets that the Christ would suffer. He says repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. And this miracle was that of a message that converted them. We have a Risen Lord which it says in Acts 1:3 “to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” It was said that Jesus would rise in three days, the tomb was sealed with a stone, a stone that would take a forklift to remove, and Roman soldiers were there to guard the tomb. The stone was said to be blown away because it was a significant distance away from the tomb and no man could have moved it. It speaks of how the elders gave a large sum of money to the soldiers to say that the disciples came at night and stole away the body of Jesus while they slept, in Matthew 28:12-15. Sleeping on guard duty is a crime awarded death. How ridiculous is it to say that it was the disciples who stole away the body of Christ, if they were indeed really asleep how would they know this? We have residing Lord, He is present.

We have redeeming Lord, Acts Chapter 3 says, Repent and be converted. Repent meaning a change of mind, a change of thinking. Before you said I am boss, now you say He is Lord, before you said sin is best, now you say righteousness is best, before you said I think I can make it by myself, now you say I can’t do it by myself. In Luke 13:3 it says, “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” Has there been a radical dramatic change in your life where you say I am sick of the old way, I want Jesus Christ to come in and give me a new life. With Christ there will be seasons of refreshing, better and brighter days, your life will be something beautiful... because without Christ ours lives are not quite at all what they were intended to be. We have a returning Lord! We say what is this world coming to? Well, the answer is, It is coming to Jesus. If the outlook looks glum, the up look is very bright. Be on the right side of the gate which is called Beautiful, leaping, dancing and Praising God.

The first time Jesus came as a lamb, the second time He comes He will come as a Lion of the tribe of Judah. The first time He came to redeem, the second time He comes He will rein. The first time He was known as the King of the Jews, the second time He comes He will be known as the King of Kings. The first time He was crowned with a crown of thorns, the second time He will be crowned with a diadem of Glory. The first time He came in poverty, the second time He will come in power. The first time He had an escort of angels, the second time He will have 10 thousands of His Saints. The first time He came in meekness, the second time He will come in majesty. Will you be one of the 10 thousands of Saints that are with Him in the restitution? I would hate for you to be on the wrong side of a beautiful life eternally separated from your Father.

Picture yourself spiritually as a crippled, on the wrong side of the gate called Beautiful, unable to walk the walk of God, unable to work the work of God, and unable to enter into the worship of God. Picture a new life, Jesus reaching down to you with a nail pierced hand and taking you by your hand and raising you up spiritually, giving to you a lift that will last, a power to enter in through the gate to the courts of God, giving you a beautiful life.

Are you saved? Does God’s Holy spirit bear witness with your spirit? Are you certain that if you died right now that you would go to heaven? If not pray a prayer like this... just talk to your Father...

Dear Lord,
I know you love me and I know that you want to save me. Lord spiritually I am crippled, and I am on the wrong side of the gate. Lord, I reach up now my hand of faith, save me Jesus, come into my heart and save me and make something beautiful of my life.
In your name I pray,
Amen

I prayed before I wrote this that God would give me strength to do so, that He would guild my finger tips as I typed, and I prayed that He would use me to reach a lost a dying world, for this is my purpose, for what greater purpose is there to fulfill than to lead people to Christ. I believe He truly has answered this prayer because these words are not of my own but of our Father’s, not only was He using me to speak to me but also to speak to who ever reads this... I pray that you are touched and enticed to enter in to a beautiful life. I Love You All, God Bless Shanon

How to Weather the Storms of Life


Life is like a voyage and the circumstances in life are like the weather, sometimes there is smooth sailing and sometimes there are storms along the way. We are caught up in the storms because we are traveling on the sea of time between two eternities. Sometimes we are caught up in storms which are not our fault and we have to endure the pain of others actions despite the fact that we are not in the storm because of anything that we have done wrong. So often we venture out on a path before consulting with God, a man has a new job opportunity and he takes it because with this new opportunity there is more money, so he moves to another city and takes his kids out of the school in which they have been attending up until this point, he doesn’t pray about it, he doesn’t seek God’s will and the kids don’t have a vote and they are about to enter into a storm and the kids are prisoners on the ship. There are people who are in a marriage who simply want out of the marriage, so they step out without first consulting with God and they bring the storms of life into that home. Paul did not want to sail in Acts 27 and he was a prisoner on a ship entering into a storm.

Here are five ways to sink your ship. The first way is compulsion. Now when much time was spent, and sailing was now dangerous because the Fast was already over, Paul advised them,
 Acts 27:9 It says when much time was spent, so basically they were saying we have stayed around here for long enough, lets do something even if it is wrong. So often people quit school out of compulsion, get divorced out of compulsion, drop out of a job because of compulsion, move from one church to another out of compulsion. People just do something even if it is without the peace or the will of God, saying “It seems as though I am just wasting time where I am so therefore I am going to do something else.” Well you need to stay where God puts you until God tells you to move elsewhere. You are not wasting time when you wait on God. You need to pray about every decision you make, the Holy Spirit of God leads you, he never drives you. Do not make your big decisions until you consult them in prayer.

The second way to sink your ship is consultation. 
 saying , “Men , I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives,” Nevertheless the centurion was more persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship than by the things spoken by Paul. Acts 27:10,11 The centurion believed the ship master rather than the soul master. He listened to the owner of the ship because he was an expert, he knew the waves and the wind. The centurion probably was thinking that preachers can be so impractical, “What does this preacher know about sailing anyway?” In consultation with an expert and contrary to the word of God the centurion makes a decision. Thank God for the experts that is until they contradict the mind, word, and will of God. What authority does a counselor who has been married three times have to council a woman about marriage. You need to consult with God not anyone else, he knows the waves and the wind and he knows which path in which you should take.

The third way to sink your ship is comfort. And because the harbor was not suitable to winter in, the majority advised to set sail from there also, if by any means they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete opening toward the southwest and northwest, and winter there. Acts 27:12 The place where they were was just not a suitable place to spend the winter. They wanted to pamper their flesh, to take the easy way. Well, the easy way is almost always the hard way and the wrong way. We as Christians are called to endure hardness. The devil always lies to us and tells us to take the easy way, “If it is going to take any rigor of the flesh, any restraint, any discipline, any saying “no” then don’t do it.” So many people make their decisions on the animal plain, animals eat when they want to eat, they drink when they want to drink, they sleep when they want to sleep, they wake up when they want to wake up, they cohabitate when they want to cohabitate, they reproduce when they want to reproduce. It is called “Animal Living”, people make their decisions based on comfort and before too long they are going to be very uncomfortable.

The fourth way to sink your ship is consensus. This comes from Acts 27:12 which was quoted in the beginning of the last paragraph. People make their decisions based on majority vote and it is almost always wrong, even in the church. Don’t do what everyone else is doing because 50 million people can be wrong. Most people already know what they want to do and they already know the decision that they will make but they go from one person to another trying to rack up enough votes, to get enough people to say that they think that it is alright, and still do not consult the mind, the word, and the will of God.

The fifth way to sink your ship is circumstance. When the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their desire, putting out to sea, they sailed close by Crete. Acts 27:13 It said the south wind blew softly like it was a sign, a circumstance that seems right. People think that it is God’s will when there is an opportunity. They don’t check with God, they just check the wind, which ever way the wind is blowing. The wind was blowing softly and despite Paul’s warning they trusted the ship master and the weather and Paul’s warning went ignored and God not trusted. So it was they sailed into the teeth of a storm.

Here are three things you ought to learn if you find yourself in a storm. First thing is that God guarded Paul from the storm as will He guard you. God will take care of you. Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up. But after long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them and said, “Men , you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss. And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ Therefore take heart, men , for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me. However, we must run aground on a certain island.” Acts 27:20-26 It was Paul on board that kept them from drowning, and it is the Christians in this world that keep God from sending down His judgment on the earth. Before the tribulation horrors can take place the Christians have to be taken out of this world. Before God could unleash fire and brimstone on Sodom he had to take Lot out of Sodom. Most people think that Christians are the trouble makers, and one of these days they will be rid of us and then their ship will sink sure enough. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But not a hair of your head shall be lost. By your patience possess your souls. Luke 21:16-19 Christians will suffer but God still takes care of them. More people are dying for Jesus than any other time in history. However, death does not kill you, he that believes in Jesus shall never die. God will bring us through every storm, He never leaves us in the middle of it, He takes us through it.

Second thing is that God gladdened Paul in the storm. Paul was of good cheer. So it is there is not one storm that can take the joy out of your life. So what do the unsaved do when the stars go out of their sky? They had no radar, no radio, no navigation system, they sailed by the stars by night and the sun by day and they took their measurements from the shore. In Acts 27:20 it says neither sun nor stars appeared for many days. Things are easy when you are just sailing along, when you are able to plot, to plan, to figure, to measure, to guide you ship. But what if there is not a star in sight? People begin to wander, So when the ship was caught, and could not head into the wind, we let her drive. Acts 27:15 A man without God will get blown off course. People begin to work, And running under the shelter of an island called Clauda, we secured the skiff with difficulty. When they had taken it on board, they used cables to under gird the ship; and fearing lest they should run aground on the Syrtis Sands, they struck sail and so were driven. Acts 27:16,17 People take more pains to go to Hell then the Christian does to go to Heaven. People say but it is hard to be a Christian, well it is harder not to be. Sin costs labor, people strive in their work, their perspiration is on their brow all to keep afloat and to stand by a bad decision because they do not want to be made wrong. Thinking I can make this work and prove to everyone and myself that I did not make a bad decision. People begin to waste, And because we were exceedingly tempest-tossed, the next day they lightened the ship. On the third day we threw the ship’s tackle overboard with our own hands. Acts 27:18,19 They tossed out the cargo. Now profit is not the motive, survival is the motive. Sin is a costly and wasteful thing and it can sometimes cost you everything if you are not careful. People begin to wish, Then, fearing lest we should run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern, and prayed for day to come. Acts 27:29 Wishing won’t make it so, it is like walking on egg shells. Wishing has no substance. People begin to withdraw, And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, when they had let down the skiff into the sea, under pretense of putting out anchors from the prow, Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the skiff and let it fall off. Acts 27:30-32 You won’t be saved if you run, you will perish. So many times people withdraw into alcohol, into drugs, into divorce, running away from home, dropping out of society, and often withdraw by suicide. Running is not the answer.

Third thing is that God guided Paul through the storm. In Acts 27:24 it said that Paul must testify before Caesar. Also in Acts 23:11the scripture states that Paul must bear witness in Rome, and in Acts 28:14 scripture states and so they went toward Rome. In the middle there was a storm. They were out of the will of God but it did not stop the will of God. Where man rules, God overrules. As Christians we may stumble, we may disobey, we may fall, we may fail but because we are saved, God has predestined us to be like Jesus and all Hell can’t stop it. God has a will for you as he did with Paul. Even though you may see an opportunity where there is none or an opportunity that is out of the will of God, He will still guide you through to His plan, His will, His grand opportunity that He has for you and has had for you all the time, you just need to follow Him and seek Him but because we are human and we drift away on the sea of time just floating along not realizing that we are so far away from God, and it isn’t until we stop focusing on “self” that we look and see what we once were blinded to, we see how far God really is, and it is then that we realize that even though it was a gradual drift we didn’t do anything to stop it, but the Lord is holding our hands, carrying us through the storm, guiding us to His perfect will for our lives. How wonderful because He has something much more grand for us than we ever would have for ourselves but we hold on to this life and this world and all the things that we think are good for us but in the end only cause a storm, but Praise the Lord because He sees us through it every time.