Tuesday, December 28, 2010

It's No Joke!

Can you believe it?
Where did the time go?
We are racing towards 2012.
Which if you haven't heard, according to many people,
 (who believe the Mayan calender),
 is when the world is supposed to come to an end.
Personally, i don't buy into that at all.
If you think you  have until 2012, you may be over estimating.
I didn't think I'd be here this long.
It wouldn't surprise me a bit , if we were called home before then.
Doesn't the Bible say that we are to long for his appearing?
What does that mean?
To desire for it earnestly, cant wait for the day of it, to want it more than anything.
Is that what we are doing?
Longing for his return?
So do I really believe that we could be caught away soon?
Yes I do. I have to. and it scares me to no end.
And if I were a betting man I'd bet it scares the be-jeebers out of you too.
Why is that?
I don't feel the need to go into it. I think we both know why.

Why is it that so many Christians,
 who know that the rapture could happen at any second,
 who know that the end is near,
 act as if it doesn't matter?
It doesn't faze us.

I'm reminded of the story of Lot in Genesis 19.
Two angels told Lot, "We are going to destroy this place,
 the Lord has sent us to destroy it.
 Whoever you have here, family, sons, daughters, sons-in-law,
 you need to get them out of here."
The Bible says in Genesis 19:14, that Lot went out, and told them,
"Get out of this city, the Lord is going to destroy it."
You know what they thought?
They thought it was a big joke.
He seemed to them as "one that mocketh".
They laughed at him.
"What's gotten into you Lot, getting all preachy on us?"
"Stop it Lot, your embarrassing yourself."
"Cut it out, your cracking us up."
"Don't get yourself all worked up."

Lot told them. They may have laughed, but he did tell them.
We like to make a big stink about Lot living in "Sodom",
 but let me ask you,
 how close are you to living in the "world"?
How easily do you fit in?
You ever wonder why they thought he was a joke?
You ever wonder why they laughed at him?
You ever wonder why when he told them, they didn't believe him?

 if they would believe us?
Or would they laugh?
Would they ask, "Where is all this coming from? You never said anything before. What makes you think your so much better than us?
You really love us and want us  to be saved?
Yeah, right. That's a good one."

You ever wonder what the people around you think of you?
You ever wonder how effective your witness is?

Can you imagine how Lot must have felt,
 as he's pouring his heart out, trying to warn them, trying to save them, and in their eyes it's all a joke?
I wonder how many people Lot told that night,
 before he went home because no one believed him?

Today with all the social media available to us, how many people could we tell  by the click of a mouse? How many "friends" do you have on facebook? How many "followers" do you have on twitter?
It's amazing how quick we are to say or post, what we eat, where we eat, what  movie we've seen or are going to see, what song or video we think is so good, how badly we feel we've been treated, or how misunderstood we are, how rotten our life is, or how we wish we didn't have to study or stay up late, or wake up early, or how awful the weather is.
Man, we can really let the words fly. 
We love it when people hit the "like" button, leave a good comment, or re-post.

If Lot were living in our day....he would have texted, called, emailed, tweeted, posted and had his status say, " Get ready, get your house in order, you don't have time to play around, the END is closer than you think".
I wonder if you, called, texted, emailed, posted, and tweeted that...what response would you get? 
Would all your friends and family laugh at you?
Or unlike Lot....would you even warn them?
Are you afraid of what people might think of you?
Are you to afraid to warn them?
Here's the hard part to deal with....our family, friends, co-workers, and classmates are going to be destroyed.
I get it that we don't care, that we're chicken-hearted and weak kneed, and don't love them as much as we profess too.....
So let's just take everyone you know that is going to hell...let's just take them all, out of the equation.
What about you ? Are you sure that you're going to make it?

I see people, Christians, going about their days, especially during the holiday season, laughing, having a holly jolly good time, being merry, spending money they don't have on gifts they can't afford, going into debt for things they don't need, eating, drinking, being festive, acting as if they don't have a clue that when they woke up, that this could be the day.
It's as if Christians today have this fog of complacency around them.
Just going along in their own little happy world and couldn't care a lick that everyone in the mall they are shopping in, is going to hell.
Not even considering that today could be the day, more concerned about shoes, and skirts, and suits, than they are their soul.
More concerned about where they are going to eat, than where they are going to spend eternity.
Paul said in Romans 13:11, "It's high time, we wake out of our slumber." 
Snap out of it! Wake up! Smell the coffee!
In Luke 12:20 Jesus said about the man that thought he had lots of time, "Thou fool, tonight they soul shall be required of thee."

Lot really believed that Sodom was going to be destroyed.
Do we really believe that Jesus could come back at any time?
I think a lot of us are like, "Oh yeah....I believe that...just not any time, soon!"
What?! Are you kidding me? Can you not see what is going on around you?
Don't you read the newspaper? Or listen to the news?
How convinced are you that Jesus is coming back soon?
Hasn't He made it clear enough? Hasn't He said it over and over again in His word?  How may messages have we heard? Recently? What are we waiting for? How much clearer does He have to say it before we'll believe it?
Or will we be like Lot's family, and we'll be the ones laughing? 
We'll be the ones thinking that it's all a big joke.
Sit down preacher, we don't need to hear that again. I've heard that for soooo long. Surely our Lord delayeth His coming. His coming is far off.

Do you know what Jesus' last words are in Revelation 22:20?
"Surely I come quickly."
(Here's some homework for you when you get the time.
Get a dictionary out, and look up the word "quickly".)

Don't be like the people in Noah's day. They heard him preach day in and day out, "It's gonna rain!"
For a hundred years, the same message, "It's gonna rain, get in the boat!" 
Looking back we can say, "How can they not have known that it was going to rain? He preached the same message, he warned them, he preached for so long. How could they not know?"
Well, how many times have we been told, heard it preached, and read it in the Bible...Jesus is coming back, Get ready, He's coming soon......
Just like it was in Noah's day, when you see that it's happening it's to late to start getting ready. When you feel the raindrop, it's to late.
In Lot's day, when you looked up and saw the fire and brimstone falling from the sky, it was to late to start preparing. No matter that you were told, no matter that you were warned, when the fire was falling, it was to late to get ready.

This time of the year, we like to tell the story of Jesus coming to earth, and we see nativity sets, and we sing songs like "Go Tell It On The Mountain", and we can't believe that there was no room in the inn.
But there are as many, if not more, promises about His second coming to earth than His first, and they are all coming to pass.
Are we going to be like the chief priest and scribes in Herod's day and say "Yeah we know there's a promise, we know a saviour is coming, we know where he is to be born, we know what the signs are.......", and yet, they missed it.
What excuse will we have if WE miss it?
Yeah we knew, we were told, we read about it, we knew the signs, we just didn't think about it all that much.
Don't think you have a year, a month, a week. You have NOW.
That's all you know for certain.







Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Costumes, Masks, and Make-Up

Costumes, Masks & Make-Up
by David Munn





I was thinking this morning, that a lot of people went out over the last few days or weeks, and purchased costumes and masks, and make-up, and went door to door trying to get people to give them some candy.
 Some people may have even gone overboard, trying to impress others with their creativity, and how “different” from what they really are, they could make themselves look.

Why?

For some sort of acknowledgement, maybe a prize, and even some goodies.


AND HERE’S THE THOUGHT THAT CAME TO ME.


For some people, every Sunday morning is that way.

(Not just on Halloween Sunday.)

Let me get some nice clothes, look the part, smile,

and like some masquerade ball,

we’ll never be able to figure out who is really beneath that costume and mask.

And maybe if I’m good enough,

I’ll get some candy, or God will bless me,

even though I know it’s just a show.

And then the next morning we wake up and put on another costume and mask and go to work, and look and act totally different.


God is not happy with just the Sunday you, just part of you; He wants to set you free from the costumes and masks. He wants the real, genuine you.


He won’t be satisfied with less.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

How To Get What You Want

How To Get What You Want
written by David Munn

I was at the church the other night praying.
 Just going through the normal rhetoric
 of what I wanted from God, and what I wasn't seeing,
even though it's promised in the Bible.

 I was telling the Lord of all the crazy things
 people have seen and have had happen to them,
 that are attributed to Him,
 and yet I haven't experienced any of that kind of stuff.

As I was praying this, the verse that says,
"these signs shall follow them that believe;
In my name shall they cast out devils;
they shall speak with new tongues;
They shall take up serpents;
and if they drink any deadly thing,
it shall not hurt them;
they shall lay hands on the sick,
 and they shall recover",
 came to mind.

I said "Ok God, that makes sense.
 I don't need to see angel feathers floating from the ceiling,
or gold fillings appear in my teeth,
or oil flowing from my hands,
or jewels appearing on my doorstep,
 but I do want what You promised!"
After all it's in Your word,
 shouldn't I expect it?

I do believe,
but just in case,
let me be like the man that said
"help thou mine unbelief."

Is that the case?
 That I'm not believing enough?
"These signs shall follow them that believe."
That's what it says.
You said it.

And I kept on berating God about what I'm not seeing,
 signs and wonders.
Telling Him that's what we need in our church,
more spiritual manifestations.
(All the while thanking Him of course,
for all that He has been doing.)

Reminding Him of what Paul had said,
"And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom,
 but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power."
That's what I wanted!
 A demonstration of the Spirit,
 a display of God's power.

I said kind of laughingly to God,
 "I know that I'm asking for a lot,
and not really offering you much to work with,
 I'm asking for a lot
 and not really giving you much."

And as I was praying that,
 I had to stop.

I took myself by surprise.
 I had to repeat what I was telling God, to myself.
Isn't it funny when God repeats your words back to you?
It was as if He said "Did you hear what you just said?"
It stopped my prayer in its tracks.

It isn't You God. It's me.

It's not that You won't or can't or don't want to,
it's just that I am not at that place yet.
 I haven't prepared myself,
I have not put in the necessary time,
 the necessary "blood, sweat, and tears"
so to speak.

He reminded me of two verses.

"The effectual fervent prayer
 of a righteous man
availeth much."

A righteous man?
I don't know if I would really consider myself in that category.
I began praying "Lord put your robe of righteousness around me, make me as you are."

The Lord has imputed unto us His righteousness.
(James 2:23)

But what about the effectual fervent prayer?

We can't expect God to do that for us can we?

Could that be the reason we aren't seeing anything spectacular or special or undeniably spiritual?

Could that be the reason we aren't "availing" much?

Once we know that we are in right standing with God(righteous),
what's to stop us from that effectual fervent prayer that availeth much?

That's the question isn't it?

What does stop us?
(don't continue reading, think about it for a second)

"you have not because you ask not"

The second verse He reminded me of was this one.

"...He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him"

let me give you a few more translations:
1. He rewards those who earnestly seek Him
2. He rewards those who sincerely seek Him
3. He becomes a Rewarder to those who seek Him out
4. He rewards those who sincerely look for Him
5. to those seeking Him He becometh a rewarder
6. He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him out.

Are you seeing the picture that God was painting me? 

Tell me this, why would God give you anything that you really didn't want?

How does God know that we really want something?

When we ask and continue to ask.

When we sincerely, earnestly, and diligently seek Him.

And not just once.
Consistently.

"lest by her continual coming she weary me"
(Luke 18:5)

In vs.7, it goes on to say that
those who cry unto God day and night, even though he bears long with them, are God's own elect.

"Covet earnestly the best gifts"

How diligent have I/we been in seeking God?
How earnest have I/we been?
How consistent have I/we been?
And yet I/we have some expectation of a reward?

God is a just God.
He doesn't just go around doling out rewards to those
who haven't worked for them.
In fact, He took away from the slothful servant and gave his portion to the servant who had worked the hardest.

Like I said in my opening sentence....
I was at the church praying.....
and God in His own way....
was telling me that the secret to getting what I wanted,
 was to continue doing what I had begun doing....
praying more. 

But not just praying...desiring, hungering, thirsting,
 being more diligent in seeking, being more fervent,
 being more consistent.

What is it that you are seeking after?
What is the reward that you want from God?
Is there anything that you want, or are desiring, from God?

As simple as it seems, the answer is found in prayer.
(By prayer I mean communication with God,
 not just vain ramblings to fill time.)

And these two verses are the blueprint.

"The effectual fervent prayer
of a righteous man
availeth much."

and

"He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."





Wednesday, June 16, 2010

HARD-CORE



Hard-Core
by David Munn

I was at the church praying tonight,
 and as usual,
 if you give the Lord a half a second of undivided attention, He's likely to give you something.
Give and it shall be given kind of a thing.
But thats for another blog.

As I was praying I began thinking about
 the cross.
The beating. The bruising. The piercing.
The humiliation. The agony. The blood.
That's when the thought came to me,
 Jesus was hard-core.
He was not playing,
and He was not complaining.
He was dead serious.
Racked with pain, but filled with love.
For me.
I began praying
"Thank you Jesus, for dying for me.
What else is there to say?
What else is there to do?
You said it, and You showed it.
You backed up your words with action
Thank you. I can't say it enough."

Words don't give it justice,
when you are picturing yourself at the foot of the cross.

I'm reminded of something I read that said
 "Show me your scars. You cannot have followed far,
you who have no scars."

There is nothing like gazing upon the supreme sacrifice to shine a light on my lazy little Christian walk.

I want to be hard-core like my master.
Full of love. Understanding the cost.
Able to shed some tears, 
but not afraid to shed some blood too.

Hard-core Christians....there's a thought.
Seen any lately?






Saturday, May 15, 2010

Lord Change Me

Lord Change Me
by David Munn

I was at the Apostolic Man Conference in New Stanton, PA this weekend, and before the first service there was a time of prayer.
It was during this time of prayer, that I received what I am going to post here in this blog.
Many times when I pray, I pray out of my spirit, not really premeditated thought. Not weighing each word carefully, just speaking from the heart, as if it somehow bypasses my brain.
During this time of prayer, I heard myself praying, "Lord change me."
It was almost as if God made me hear it,
the way He heard it, and I had to stop.
And repeat it. And think about it.

Wait a minute, I said to myself. Do I really mean that?

What if the Lord asked me to change some things?
To give up some things?
To add some things?

Is this a prayer that I recognize the consequences of?
Do I really want to be changed?
What will change look like?

Lord change me, but not in any ways that will require anything of me.
 Is that what I mean?
Or is it just vain rambling words that have no weight or meaning?
Change me how?

Change requires sacrifice, and who wants to do that?
UNLESS, your desperate, and hungry enough to do ANYTHING, to be more like Him, to feel His presence, to be used, to go to a deeper level.
Are you at that place?
Am I?
Or am I just saying things that I think He wants to hear, and that makes me feel good.
Like I'm saying/doing what He wants me too.
Lip service.
So many words.
But where is my heart?

Would I be ready to lay it down, sacrifice and obey.....or am I really just kind of comfortable with where I'm at?

I'm reminded of James and John, who wanted to sit, one on the right and one on the left of Jesus.......
and Jesus' answer to them wasn't a yes or no answer.
His response was....."Are you able?" "Can you?"
I'd like to think that what He was really asking them was "Are you willing?"
Are we?
Am I?
There is no telling how close we could get to God, and how much God could use us.....if we were truely willing.

If you want to draw close, you have to pay the price.
Front row seats always cost more
than the nose-bleed sections.
Some of us are here for the show, to watch,
and others want back-stage passes.
Access to the band.
Access to the Man.
But it comes at a price.

If any man wants to follow me..... let him first (not somewhere along the journey) deny himself. Ouch!
Take up his cross. Ow!
And follow Me.
How good are we at following?
It requires keeping Him in sight at ALL times.
(Like the Elijah and Elisha story)

Lord change me.
We expect God to do for us, what we are not willing to do for ourselves.....or Him.

We really do need to change.
Don't we?
Don't you?

What are we not willing to change?
If anything comes to mind.....your not ready.

What are we willing to change?
If your answer is anything...if your answer is everything....
Get ready.
Change is coming.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

So you think we're a cult?

It's not really big news that people consider us a cult....lots of people have...

Bro. Bernard addresses that issue here in this youtube clip:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVQIx_gOLUA&feature=related 

You see when you say that JESUS is THE way, THE truth, THE life, and that NO man can get to heaven except through Him, because He is THE door, and anyone who even tries to come another way is a thief and a robber..in other words not legitiment and trying to break in...when you say that, that messes with ALOT of people that don't believe that.

Contrary to popular belief you cant just believe anything you want to , and live anyway you want to, and do any old thing you want to, and still get into heaven.

 Narrow is the path and strait is the gate and few there be that find it.

 So in order for "others" who aren't willing to believe the truth, not willing to pay the price, to feel better about themselves for not obeying THE truth, they have to discredit you .


Did the world love Jesus? NO, and it still doesn't.

 The Bible says it you refuse THE truth..God will send you a strong delusion so that you'll believe a lie.
 I would never take a backsliders (someone who knew the truth and walked away) advise about the state of our church.

 The world HATED Jesus and his disciples and followers. They tortured them, killed them, persecuted them, fed them to lions, burned them at the stake....and believe it or not ...they still do.
 just look at ( www.persecution.com ).

Jesus went so far as to say "blessed are you when men shall revile and spit on you"......KNOW what you believe and in WHO you believe and dont back down because Satan has his imps "in people shape" trying to bring you down.
 
 Jesus always had his haters, and so will you.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

COFFEE & DONUTS

Coffee & Donuts
by David Munn 


I like my coffee hot, bold, and strong.
I put one heaping scoop of bold coffee
 for every cup I'm making.
8 cups, 8 scoops.
I work with guys that will fill the coffee pot
 with 12 cups of water,
and put 4 scoops of weak grounds in the filter.
 To me, thats disgusting! 
They say my coffee is like motor oil.
 They put creamer in the coffee I make
 and watch as it doesn't change color
 (until they stir it up). 
Thats how I like my coffee.
Piping hot and extra strong.
Thats also how I like my gospel.
Don't even bother to pass off some watered down,
 sickingly sweet swill.
If what I like is to strong for you, then so be it.
If it isn't bold, I don't buy it.
If the gospel you prefer doesnt make you sweat a little,
I'd suggest getting a little hotter and bolder kind.
I'm convinced that Jesus was bold.
I'm convinced that He made some people sweat.
 I'm sure some people got a little nervous around Him.
He was all about love,
but that love wasn't the "wishy washy mamby pamby"
 kind of love that is being passed around in churches today.
He was bold. He was strong.
He did not water down His message
 to make it more pallatable to the masses.
He was not afraid to speak the truth,
 even if it did make some people uncomfortable.
Take a look at the Bible,
 some people hate it,
 it's to bold, to confronting, to judgemental,
 not all inclusive....but it's also the truth.
 It also changes lives.
 And to those who love their gospel bold and strong,
 they would and have given their lives for it.

I like my donuts fresh, sweet and loaded with filling.
Stale donuts are the worst.
Pay the full price and get the fresh ones.
Few things are better
than getting a mouth full of delicious creamy donut filling.
Few things are worse
than expecting a mouth full of satisfyingly sweet filling,
 and all you get is air.
Dont you just hate it when you don't get
what you expected?
Have you ever been anticipating
 bavarian cream, or boston cream
and you bite into lemon cream?
Your lips and taste buds are awaiting sweet,
but what they get is sour.
Thats how some Christians are.
They give you the promise and expectation of sweet,
 but leave in your mouth the taste of bitter and sour.
You go to church wanting something fresh,
 something savory,
 something that has just gotten out of the oven.
 And in a lot of churches you get stale at best,
services and sermons.
You expect the service and the people to be full of the goodness of God.
And what you get is emptiness.
Where's the filling?
Where's the Spirit of God?
Where's the infilling of the Spirit?
Where is His sweet presence?
I like my donuts fresh, full, and sweet.
Thats also how I like my spirit.

Give me something bold, and give me something sweet.
That's how I like it.
The boldness of the gospel, and the sweetness of the Spirit.

"speak the truth....in love"



Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Why Are We Not Moving?



It doesnt matter what kind of car you have.
 If its a Ford or a Ferrari.
 We all depend on one thing when we get in the car
 and turn the ignition. 
A spark.
 If theres no spark,
you may look nice sitting there,
 but your not going anywhere.
Your car may have the best coverage insurance can buy,
 it may be the cleanest car in your neighborhood,
 it may be in wonderful condition,
 people going by may wish they had as nice a car as you....
but it needs a spark to start it.
 If you want to go places in God....you need a spark.
You need some passion.
 You need the fire of the Holy Ghost
A lot of us may
 look good, smell good, dress good,
 and many people may think we have it all together.
 But if theres not that passion for God,
if theres not that..spark...
chances are we are gonna be sitting in the exact same spot as we are right now,
5 years from now. 
Continuing on using the car analogy,
suppose everything is in working order on your vehicle. You get in confidently as you do every morning,
 as you did yesterday,
 and turn the ignition,
 there's a spark, you can hear it, but it doesn't start.
 It tries too, but it just sputters out.
Why? 
Your out of gas.
 Theres no gas for the spark to ignite.
 Again your stuck just sitting there.
 Not only do you need a spark, but you need to be combustible!
 Theres a proverb that says
 "where there's no wood, there the fire goeth out".
 Its not enough just to be on fire for God,
  you need to have something in you
 for the Holy Spirit to ignite.
 Many times we put things into our spirit man,
that we would never dream of putting into our gas tanks.
We figuratively pull into the  garbage dumps of life
and say "fill 'er up".
Then we wonder why
we arent performing at optimal levels.
We wonder why
 we're so often left stranded.
 If we want to go places in God,
 and we want to get there faster than we are now, 
we need to fill up on high octane spiritual stuff.
 So when the Spirit sets off a spark,
we'll ignite
 and be well on the road
 to where we ultimately want to be.


David Munn

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Spitting In The Face Of Love

Spitting in the Face of Love
By: David Munn

God is love.
Jesus is God.
God loves us.
He told us so.
He put it in writing.
He doesn’t care who you are, where you’ve been, where you were born, how much money you make, or what you can do for Him.
He doesn’t care. None of that matters to Him. He loves you. Just as you are.
In his book, “Just Like Jesus”, Max Lucado wrote, “He loves you just as you are, but too much to let you stay that way.”
It’s true. No matter your station in life, Jesus is there for you.
All He wants, is to love you and make your life better.
All He requires is for you to love Him back.
Is that too much to ask?
He’ll know how much you love Him by how you respond to Him.
Will you submit yourself to Him,...to His will?
Will you live for Him?
Would you die for Him?
Would you do whatever it took to show Him how much you love Him?
He did all those things and more, for us.
And what did we do?
We rejected Him. We mocked Him. We spit in His face.
Yet looking through the spit and the tears, He sees us not as who we are now, and what we are doing now.
Instead He sees who we can become if we would just accept His love and love Him in return.
But even if we don’t, even if we never return the love He has already shown to us, even if we spit in His face, that doesn’t change who He is or how much He loves you.
You know He loves you. He’s made that perfectly clear.
The response is up to you. Will you show Him you love Him, or will you…………?

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

ARE YOU HOT?

I actually posted this as a response to a holiness blog, and thought it was a good enough little read/word to pass it on as its own.

God means business about this seperation thing.
In the OT He didn't even want two different kind of fabrics in your clothing.
what fellowship hath light with darkness?
be not unequally yoked?
what part does Christ have with belial ?
if we aren't going to be "on fire" for God, He'd rather have us stone cold dead in sin, than a little of this and a little of that.
i wish that you were either hot or cold, because if your lukewarm, I'll spew you out of my mouth. lukewarmness actually makes God sick.
I heard a preacher say,"God's thermometer only reads 2 temperatures. Hot or Cold."
Come out from among them and be ye seperate.
i wish we could all look in God's mirror of truth and say "I'm hot!"
Can you?