Here am I, send me

Here Am I, Send Me

Isaiah 6
1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.

3 And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”
4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

When General Tex Brown finished his time with us this weekend with this challenge, it inspired me to evaluate what I am doing to further the Kingdom of God, not only in my homeland of the USA, but around the globe.  I am a man of unclean lips and need the love and forgiveness of my Savior.  How or why would God use me?  I have a desire to please God, but many times I fail him.  THEN, the grace of God and the forgiveness of God enters in and changes my life and allows me to get up and follow Him.  God, even in my sinful self, desires to use me for His Kingdom.  I must totally rely of Jesus for everything, even when I stumble and fall, He is there to sustain me.

What about you today?  Are you willing to come to God just as you are and say these words, "Here I am, Send me"?

Worship Retreat

Tonight at Cottonwood Creek I am hosting our very first Retreat.  I have invited Sion Alford from Gateway Church to be our Keynote Speaker for the night. 

So why retreat?  Why carve out time separate from the normal?  I strongly feel it is important to take time in life to so things that are out of the ordinary to build experiences, friendships and learn something new.  When I retreat with my Savior, I find the same result.  When I spend that extra time with the Lord, I experience something new that I did not know before about my relationship with Him.  It is a sacrifice to carve that time away from the normal, but it so rewarding.

When is the last time you retreated, if not at a literal retreat, but with the Lord?  He is waiting for us to meet with him today - retreat!

Camp Quest

I just returned from an amazing week leading a group of energetic 3rd grade boys at Camp Quest.  It was an honor to be with these young men the entire week.  When I got home, I looked at my beautiful bride and said, "Wow, you smell so much better than a room full of 3rd graders!"  We got a good laugh from that.  At camp, we learned that God has promised to always be with us when we "plug into" the source and power of Jesus Christ in our lives.  Without Jesus, we are an island unto ourselves.  What a great reminder this week to daily "plug into" God and His word for my life.  Take a look at the fun we had in the Mud Pit!

So, let's get plugged into God's mighty power as we follow Him daily!  1 Peter 1:3

Live Out Loud

This is our resurrection song, hope is alive, hope is alive.  He has risen SHAKES the dawn like thunder, like thunder.  This is our EVERLASTING song, all praise to Christ, all praise to Christ. Glory to the Risen Son!  Our Savior Jesus is Alive!  The words of this song have continued to resonate in my mind, or it has been STUCK in my mind since this Holy Easter Week.  WOW, what a song of celebration and worship to our risen Savior, Jesus Christ.

So much effort, energy and passion went into last week called which we call "Holy Week".  When Monday came, it was difficult to emotionally prepare for my day.  I was spent both physically and emotionally from the week.  Then I became somewhat convicted in my apathy.  The real work of "living out" what I prepared so diligently for became a reality on Monday.  It was time to put into action what I was singing about and celebrating.  It was time to walk the walk and talk the talk.

So many times I can sing about the love of God and celebrate the greatness of who He is, but after the platform, I can have amnesia, forgetting what I was singing about and that the truth of the songs and scriptures were telling me.  Have you been there?  Can you relate?

My challenge to my self and to our ministry is for us to "LIVE OUT" the resurrection song today and forever.  Might we turn our mourning into gladness and our sorrow into joy knowing we have a Savior who loves and cared for us today, and a God who is for us, not against us.  Might we "LIVE OUT" our commitment to the Lord and run to Him today.

For further reading on these passages, go to Romans 8, 2 Corinthians 5:16-18, 1 Corinthians 9:23-25

LIVE OUT LOUD!  Blessings - Keith

Welcome Home

Today I spent the afternoon with our JOYUS and Missions Ministry at DFW Airport greeting our men and women serving in our United States Military.  What an amazing experience it was to welcome each one of these 171 soldiers off the plane.  They came from all over the world, from Iraq, Afghanistan and many other places.  For me personally, watching a mom and 4 year old wait to see their dad for the first time in over 8 months just brought about emotions of thankfulness, love and care.  To be reunited with friends and family after being away from home must be the best feeling in the world.

Then I got to thinking about our eternal "Welcome Home" when we are reunited with our heavenly father for eternity.  Can you imagine the anticipation God has when we see Him for the first time and we run to Him and embrace all of His holiness and beauty.  What a day that will be!

Do we think about heaven often?  Do we reunite with our heavenly Father on a daily basis so when we get to see Him face to face someday we run to Him?  He is waiting for us.  Run to Him today.

Philippians 2 - Jesus on the Throne of Your Life

Imitating Christ’s Humility

 ¹ Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

I am leading the Worship & Arts Ministry of my church in a Sunday morning Bible Study through the book of Philippians.  It has been a very encouraging time together as we study God's word and yesterday truly resonated with us all.  The most difficult thing for me to do as a follower of Jesus is to place the interest of others before my own.  And why is that so difficult?  It is truly simple.  I allow the things of this world to distract me and take my focus off of Christ as my everything.

We used the illustration of a throne that was created by God where Jesus sits.  When Jesus is on His throne and in control of our lives, we find it much easier to follow, trust and live life as Christian.  When we are distracted and place other things on the throne of God, we become more concerned about the things the world deem as important of vital. 

So how to we place Christ on the throne of our lives?  Read what Paul tells us in Philippians 2; in humility, come before the Lord.  Ask the Lord to take His proper place in your life at the beginning of your day and humbly submit your life to him in all areas.  When we falter, allow the grace of God to restore you back to Himself.

God is a great and faithful God.  Trust Him with your all today and love Him with your heart. mind, soul and strength, then love others!

The Greatest Sacrifice

Jesus taught us, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).

The act of caring for others more than yourself or actually taking your own life for the sake of someone else it the ultimate sacrifice a human being can make.  In our North Dallas culture, we often do not see this taking place, but look at present day Japan, where men are sacrificing their lives to control the radiation problems they are facing.  Look at the men and women from our military from the United Stages serving in Afghanistan, Iraq and other places across the world who are sacrificing their lives for you and me for the cause of freedom and democracy.  It takes strength and passion to make such a sacrifice.  It also take a belief in something powerful to evoke such a response to lay down your life for the cause.

This type of sacrifice is what God did through His one and only son Jesus Christ.  He sent His son from heaven to earth as a living sacrifice to take away the sins of the world!  Amazing sacrifice.  Then, Jesus Christ became the living sacrifice for you and for me!  What is our response to this realization?  To worship Him and give Him my life.  Take a moment to reflect on the fact that the God of the universe considered your life worth the death of his Son. Whatever your circumstances, you are loved.

LENT begins this Week

I, for the first time in my short 41 years of living on this earth, am walking through LENT and reading a daily devotional from Jim Denison.  There are so many different ways to approach this month as Easter approaches.  Traditionally, you "give up" something for Lent in sacrifice to God.  This idea allows the believer to sacrifice something as a reminder, or offering to God for what He has done for us.  He sent His one and only Son from heaven to earth to take away the sins of the world.

What can I give up?  What is it that God desires for me to sacrifice for Him during this time to remind me of who He is in my life.  I will have to pray about that one and get back to you.

Here is my challenge today...God does not seek my ability, but my availability.  Have I made myself available to God today?  Will I make myself available to God today?

Prepare the Way

Prepare the Way

Luke 3:4-6
As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: "A voice of one calling in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.

Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight,
the rough ways smooth.

And all people will see God's salvation.'"

The prophets foretold of the coming of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament in Isaiah, knowing that He would come and take away the sins of the world. But there was a charge or directive given to the people of God before this would happen. The words are simple, yet life-changing; "Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him." Then in Luke we see these words again as John the Baptist is actually leading out and telling others about the coming of the Messiah. His obedience changed the world.

How can we apply this truth of Scripture to us today? Answer the call of God today and prepare the way of the Lord. Make a straight path for him by submitting your life to him and following His word. As you walk through the valleys and on the mountain tops, follow God and he will make your path straight and give you the strength to carry on, why?. Because you are preparing the way for the Lord. If we follow this call, then ALL PEOPLE will see God's salvation.

Challenge for us today. Are we as individuals preparing the way for the Lord? Are we calling people to follow God and are they seeing salvation? Make straight a path for Jesus in your life today.
Blessing - Keith

January 2011

To begin the new year, I become challenged more and more by the reading of God's word and the teachings of Jesus Christ. How do I continue to survive in a western culture here in America with so many amazing blessings and privileges, yet I know that our world is filled with sufferings and hurt that I cannot even begin to comprehend? I am on a journey this year to seek God's heart with this struggle. Might He show and reveal to me how to respond to Him in love through this journey.

I begin by examining the theme for this blog - that God is the one who came down to meet me. We have the capacity to love only because He first loved us. In that humble understanding I desire to respond by knowing I am nothing without the love of God in my life. It begins there.

With everything God has placed in my life, how do I use it to make Him known in all of my life? God, how can I make you known today?