Video by Eric Ludy presenting the Gospel in an awesome way

http://youtu.be/nPIOkdNL-QQ

Blind eyes to a faith that can see

So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. (II Corinthians 5:6-8 NKJV)

In the Movie "Facing The Giants" the coach challenges the captain of the football team to crawl on his hands and feet with a 160 lb. man on his back to the 50 yard line (that's HALF the field)! The player says there is no way. The coach doesn't settle for that answer and challenges him anyway, but he goes even further. The coach says to do it blindfolded because he doesn't want him to give up when he sees the impossible.

See, the player thinks he is going to try to get to the 50 yard line which he already believes is too hard. But what he doesn't know is the coach has a bigger plan in view, but if the player knew what he was planning there is no way he would even attempt it. So, he blindfolds him to keep from seeing the impossible.

The player gets the blindfold on, gets down on the ground and the other guy lays on his back. This guy, by the way, I believe represnets the burden or cross we must carry in our struggles. The only thing the player can see is darkness but he can hear his coaches voice right next to him saying "YOU CAN DO THIS AND IT'S NOT TO HARD, KEEP GOING!!!"

As the player unknowingly gets to the 50 yard line, he starts to say things like, "I'm about out of strength", "I can't go any further", "This is too hard". Then the coach gets down to his level and says "YES YOU CAN!!!" He pulls out all stops to encourage his player! Then as he finally finishes, the coach takes the blindfold off and the player finds himself in the ENDZONE! He covered the whole field of 100 yards on his hands and feet with 160 lbs on his back when he believed he couldn't even do half of that! What a victory!

See, that's the way we need to be with our Christain walk. When God calls us to a certain tasks and to live according to His Word, we start out saying we can't. It's impossible. There is no way! Left to ourselves, we can't. but we have the blindfold on and if you are spending time in prayer and in God's Word every day, you will hear His voice bent down right next to you saying "YES YOU CAN"!

This is from Oswald Chambers (My Utmost For His Highest)...

"Because you have kept My command to persevere . . . —Revelation 3:10

Perseverance means more than endurance— more than simply holding on until the end. A saint’s life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, but our Lord continues to stretch and strain, and every once in a while the saint says, “I can’t take any more.” Yet God pays no attention; He goes on stretching until His purpose is in sight, and then He lets the arrow fly. Entrust yourself to God’s hands... 

There are areas in our lives where that faith has not worked in us as yet— places still untouched by the life of God. There were none of those places in Jesus Christ’s life, and there are to be none in ours. Jesus prayed, “This is eternal life, that they may know You . . .” (John 17:3). The real meaning of eternal life is a life that can face anything it has to face without wavering. If we will take this view, life will become one great romance— a glorious opportunity of seeing wonderful things all the time. God is disciplining us to get us into this central place of power."

If this is a picture of how we are to live out our faith on the field, what does your field look like? What areas do you struggle with or what thorns has God allowed you to bear? What kinds of things in your life causes you to say, "I can't take one more step"?

I'll share a little bit of what my field looks like... I struggle so much with working alone. I'm the kind of person I have to work really really hard to motivate myself to do any work if I'm left by myself. Its the way ive always been. And I'm in a job that requires me to work alone a lot of the time. See how God uses that to build up in us what is lacking? I also struggle a lot with "Self protective pride" that is I get very defensive and even very angry when I FEEL like I'm being attacked even if that isnt really what is happening. 

Those are just some of the things that I struggle with on a daily basis. And do I walk perfectly on my hands and feet like that player? Haha! I would like to say I do but the fact is I fall and walk backwards it seems more than I'm walking forward. I fail and fail and fail all the time. But I can hear my Lord Jesus's voice still saying to me "you can make it"!

-Doug McGowan

The Road to Freedom

Doug McGowan

I got permission from my wife Cyndi to posts this. It's her testimony. You will be blessed if you take time to read this. It brings tears to my eyes...

- The Road to Freedom -

Have you ever been skeptical when you heard a person say that they went to prison and found Jesus? So was I…until it happened to me. I had been living a life of recklessness, carelessness, and selfishness for many years. I held drugs and partying in higher regard than I did myself, or my family. My five children had been removed from my home and were living with various family members. I was quickly traveling on a downward spiral of destruction. The darkness and depression I was in had overpowered my will to live, leaving me in a cave of despair. All I wanted was the peace that only death could bring.

March 3rd, 2008, was the beginning of my path to freedom. It began with a knock on the door by an officer from the local police department. I had missed yet another court date and there was a warrant for my arrest. As I left my home that day, handcuffed and in the back of a police car, I knew I wouldn’t be returning to that residence. I was only in jail for a few days before the sheriff’s office served me with an eviction notice. I felt so helpless knowing that strangers would be rummaging through my belongings, discarding the precious pictures that reflected smiling images of my displaced children, and there was nothing I could do. 

Within two weeks of my arrest I received a sentence of 15 months in the state correctional facility on a DUI charge. With time served and good behavior, I would be serving a total of 61 days after being transported. I was aware of the fact that you were not permitted to transfer any of your belongings from county jail to prison unless it was a Bible, therefore, I decided to acquire one as a means to hold onto addresses and phone numbers that I wanted to keep; I had no idea the impact this book was going to have on my life. 

As you can imagine, a person has a lot of time on their hands while sitting in jail; it is the ultimate “time-out”. Out of curiosity and boredom I began thumbing through the Bible I had received and I came across the name of Ezekiel, it was such an odd name that it sparked my interest and I began to read. I read about how God sent mind boggling visions to this unsuspecting young chap that sounded like they were straight out of a trippy sci-fi movie. This story was filled with creatures I had never imagined, and outlandish tasks God wanted Ezekiel to carry out. I was captivated by the story of the valley of dry bones; I never realized that the Bible was such a good book!

Once I had finished Ezekiel, I decided that I wanted to read something about Jesus, so I opened up to the book of Mark, the shortest of the four gospels (which is why I chose it). This is where I found the words that would forever change not only my way of thinking about Christianity, but my entire outlook on life: Chapter 2, verse 17 of the Contemporary English Version of the Bible, Jesus says, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do. I didn’t come to invite the good people to be my followers. I came to invite sinners.” Wow!!! He was talking about me! I was a sinner! This was the best news I had ever heard.

As I continued to read, a new-found faith began to develop deep inside my heart. Up until this point I felt like me being alive gave my children a false sense of hope that I would someday be able to bring them all back together…back home. This task seemed impossible at the time, but as I read more about the promises of God, that thought began to fade away. The Bible told me that all things are possible, and that He is a God of restoration. The hunger in my soul to learn more led me to sign up for any available bible studies I could go to while in prison. Looking back, I am able to see how God brought different people into my path to help guide my way. The last cellmate that I had said “Cyndi, Jesus doesn’t want you leave Him here in prison, take Him with you when you go. Too many people forget who it was that helped them through when they get back out on the streets.” I will never forget those words for as long as I live. 

I still had a long way to go after my release in June. With my mom’s help, I began to visit my children consistently in order to do my part to regain their trust, I went to a 90 day inpatient drug treatment program as suggested by the Department of Children and Family Services, and then entered into a 18 month residential Christian discipleship program called Tabitha House for my follow-up care. It was here that I learned who I was in Christ and gained the confidence I needed to become a productive member of society. I even got hired by the ministry to cook for both the men’s and women’s houses, as well as for an after-school program they provided for the neighborhood kids. 

I was able to save enough money during my stay to get an apartment only two weeks after my graduation in July, 2010. It was a wonderful feeling knowing that it wouldn’t be long before the kids would be coming home to stay. My oldest son Aric returned first that October; Raven and David followed in December. Raymond, my youngest child, came home in June 2011, and finally, after a long wait, custody of my son Michael was granted to me in February, 2012. 

I am grateful to have this second chance at being a mom, and even more grateful that I now have what it takes to teach my children about the goodness of God. I think that after reading this you would have to agree that going to prison was the best thing that ever happened to me.

In picture: 

Back Row: Raymond, Alex (step-son), Raven, Michael, and David

Front Row: Me, Doug (husband) Kodi the dog, and Aric —  at Coffee Creek

Because it's a HEART issue!

I had a conversation with a friend of mine the other day. He told me someone asked him once why he doesn't cuss. He said to them, "Well, the bible does say that we shouldn't but that's not why I don't necessarily. For one, I think it sounds ignorant and not very intelligent. But more than that, I want every word that comes out my mouth to be pleasing to God.

Why do we choose not to use bad language? Why do we choose not have sex before marriage? Why do we choose not to do the things that Christians aren't "supposed" to do? Is it because we are told NOT to? Well, if that is the reason, that's called religion! Or, are we choosing not to because we want to please our Father in heaven? Now that is what a relationship with Jesus Christ is like.

Give with Good Measure

Today’s scripture:

“Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” (Luke 6:38)

If you are a little familiar with the “Sermon on the Mount”, you may know one of the most common quotes from scripture… “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” At first glance, you may look at this topic and think this is about receiving blessings from God if you ask for them.

Today we are looking into the seventeenth topic on the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus is teaching, which is “Keep asking, Seeking, Knocking”. Matthew 7:7-12… Jesus says to seek and you will find. Ask and it will be opened to you. What man whom if his son asks for food would give him a stone instead? If you who have wicked hearts, which we all do (Psalm 14:3b), and know how to give good things to your children, how much more will God give to you if you seek Him for it.

How many times have you heard people say, “Anytime you see a “Therefore” in the bible, you need to find out what its therefore”? Well, the following verse, v.12 says “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” See, the context of this passage is saying to mercy others first. Treat them and fill a need in their lives and as you do your heavenly Father will take care of you.

I'm going to ask you to look again at the mercy prayer found at the top of this blog in the tab labeled "Mercy". In that prayer it says... "Bless _____. Lord, bless him/her in everything he/she touches. Bless him/her spiritually, physically and financially. Bless his/her loved ones. Do for him/her, Lord, instead of me."

Now when praying this prayer, put the person's name in the blank. Notice it says... "Do for him/her, Lord, instead of me." That is not to say that you don't want God to bless you. It's saying you're not concerned about your own needs or desires as you pray for people because you know, according to Matthew 7:12, God has your back! Evrything you pray with a heartfelt attitude for another in need, will be returned to you.

Now, let me carefully clarify something. This does not mean if you pray for another person to have financial riches or a really nice car or even no troubles this week, that it will be done to you. However, God will meet your NEEDS! The heart of Christ is always for those in need. Because we are made in His image, He also wants you to have a heart for those in need. His word does say He will overflow your cup. However, if it will keep you from being needy for Him, He will give you just enough to keep you humble so that you will stay needy for Him.

Psalm 37:4-5 says..."Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your dheart. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass."

Brother Bill Lucas gave this verse to me from Purelife Ministries right after I got saved. He is a very dear friend who has taught me a lot about mercy. Notice the two commands before God says He will give you the desires of your heart and bring it to pass. Delighting and commiting yourself to the Lord is is doing His will, and His will is mercy! As you mercy others, you share the same heart as Christ. As you share the same heart, you will share the same desires! Those desires will come to pass because they are in His will!

Reflection:

This is, without a doubt, an attitude of mercy. Matthew 5:7 - "Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy." If you are in need of mercy or any blessing, then be a blessing to someone first and you have God's promise that you will receive mercy!

Challenge:

Is there someone you can think of that is in need of something? Matbe someone you know is having a hard time making it to their next paycheck. Or maybe you know someone is is in jail and needs to hear truth. Maybe you work with a person who has a bitter attitude and needs you to show them kindness. I garantee you have someone in some area of your life that needs that extra care of mercy. Think of how you can be a blessing to them and just do it! I've heard it said before... Knowledge is one thing but Wisdom is something else. Wisdom is what you do with that knowledge when it's understood.

-Doug McGowan

To judge - Not to judge

Today’s scripture:

“Desire without knowledge is not good—how much more will hasty feet miss the way!” (Proverbs 19:2)

“You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me.” (John 8:15-16)

When discussing sin, often I hear people say, “The bible says not to judge”, and they refer to Matthew 7 to back this up. All to often we tend to use this as a way to tell people “don’t tell me I’m wrong, besides who are you to keep me accountable? You don’t know me.” Truth is God wrote out His will for us and if they do not line up with His word, then we know we are wrong. What we need to do when referring to scripture and to understand what God says about sin is to read the context it is written in.

Up to this point in scripture of the “Sermon on the mount”, Jesus has been teaching about the attitudes of the heart and the hypocrisy that goes with some of those attitudes. See, the context of this passage is about dealing with the heart. What is your motive of your judgment towards other people? Whenever there is judgment, it should always be with the intent of presenting truth and with that should be an attitude of hunger and thirst for righteousness (5:6) and having a desire for there to be a turning to God. Judgment should never be that you want to point out things other people do wrong.

Today we are looking into the sixteenth topic on the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus is teaching, which is “Do not judge”. Matthew 7:1-6… Please understand this is not about not judging, it is more about not being a hypocrite. To understand the content of this passage, I believe the key is in v.3-4 “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye?”

As an example, we cannot try to council a brother on being a good steward of his money when we turn around and head off to the casinos. Same as if you were to help someone with a pornography addiction and yet you just looked at some lust-filled images on your smart phone! It just does not make sense! Like Jesus says in v.5, you need to seek help for your own struggles before you can help another about theirs.

One time I witnessed a very sad example of wrong judgment. One summer morning I had to work on a Sunday opening up the church building at 6:30 am. As I got closer to the building, I saw this man lying on the bench outside the doors. As I opened the doors, another one of our congregation members walked up with me. The man on the bench stood up and asked if he could come inside and help serve. It was apparent this man had not showered and had been sleeping outside all night. I was taken back a little bit by this situation, but I said “sure, why not. We welcome anyone who wants to help.” Then, the other member of our church pulled me aside and said to me, “you have to get him out of here! He’s scary looking!”

I’m not sure if it was because he was African/American or if it was he appeared to be homeless, or if it was because of his odor. The point is he did not do anything to warrant being kicked out of a church just because of his appearance! After all, Jesus came for the sick. He came for the weary. He loves to help and mercy those in need. In fact, He will pass right by the one who thinks he has it all together and does not see his desperate need for Jesus to help the lost! We need to be very careful of how we judge, why we judge and whom we are judging!

Now, with that being said, there is a place and time to judge. John 7:24 “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.” Righteous judgment is letting God decide. Like I said earlier, He has already written in His word of how He wants us to live life. If it does not line up with His word, we need to GENTLY and LOVINGLY come to that person with intent of correction and show them truth. Of course, this is assuming you have already practiced Matthew 7:5.

Reflection:

I would say you would need an attitude of hunger and thirst for righteousness for this topic of judgment. Be careful to judge another while you yourself are in some bondage of sin. First confess your sin and repent by getting help, then you can be able to see clearly how to help others. Now, once you are able to help others through correction, consider it mercy to them to show them truth. If you don’t judge them with righteous judgment, you are actually doing them harm because they may not realize they need to repent.

Challenge:

How are you doing in your walk with Jesus? Is there any area of your life that you need Jesus to take control of? Maybe judgment towards others may be something you struggle with. Be very mindful of why and how and whom you are judging. Confess your wrong judgment to which you have judged and ask for their forgiveness.

-Doug McGowan

Don’t worry, Be happy

Today’s scripture:

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

Max Lucado once said, “No one can pray and worry at the same time.” There is power in prayer because of whom you are praying to. Sometimes I think we are afraid to ask God for things that we need or want because we feel that He will not see us through. There is never a time when God does not meet our needs. However, our needs are rarely matching up with how we see them. If we are facing some jail time and it is not yet certain if we will serve that time, we pray and ask God to grant us freedom. If He chooses to let the judge sentence us to serve time in jail, it is because of what we NEED and not what we want. If God chooses not to give us what we desire, it isnt because He doesnt love us; rather it is because He loves us way too much for us to have our own way which is very destructive most of the time.

There was one time while I was separated from my first wife and my son, I was struggling to pay bills, child support, and gas money, not to mention food. The church I was going to had helped me out several times with my financial shortage. I was driving down the road one-day whith my gas gage on empty and no money in my wallet. I cried out to God saying… “I know it is a good thing to humble myself and ask for help, but God, I’ve been doing that and I’m still hurting! This time, will you please send me some money without asking for it?”

I am not kidding, my son Alex calls me within 5 minutes of that prayer and says there is a $100.00 check there waiting for me from a church I used to go to a few years before! I cashed the check, then went to that church, thanked them, and told them my struggles and how God blessed me through them. They told me they didn’t know anything about it!!! God will send the rain of mercy when, AND ONLY when you need it. A friend of mine once told me we have a daddy who is abizillionaire and He loves to bless us with all that He has. That,my friends is so true!

Proverbs 12:25 says, “Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But a good word makes it glad.” There really is no need to drive yourself into a state of depression. If you can help your situation, then try with all your might. However, if you have done all that you know what to do, then pray as you lie back in your hammock and let God take care of what you need. There is nothing more that you can do about it anyway. When you do that and let God take it over, you have a peace in the midst of chaos that surpasses all understanding.

Today we are looking into the fifteenth topic on the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus is teaching, which is “Do not worry”. Matthew 6:25-34… Basically, Jesus is saying, there is enough chaos and trouble in this world that we don’t need to add to it. From the outside of Christianity it does not make any since to not worry when you just lost your job and your mortgage is due and you only have a bottle of ketchup and a couple of eggs in the fridge. My dear friends, that is where faith comes in! Faith is not based on what we can see, it is based on the one who cares for us that we cannot see but we believe we can trust Him.

He wraps up this part of the sermon of what is most important… v.33-34 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Reflection:

This most definitely needs an attitude of humility. See, we need to set our minds on Him and seek Him before He will jump in and take care of the situation. Do not be discouraged or afraid to cry out to Him with what you need. He already knows anyway, He is just waiting for you to humble yourself and ask Him for help.

Challenge:

Have you done all you can do in your current situations, whatever they are? Do you have peace that God has got this? If you are still worrying, that means either you never surrendered it to God or you have decided to take it back again. Once you have done all you can do, surrender it to God and ask Him to help you to keep your hands off of it. This is His life, not yours. He owns this situation, you do not! He sees the outcome, you only see the present time. Let it go!

-Doug McGowan