Thursday, September 04, 2008
Thoughts from the Morning of 9.4.08Neighbors:
My neighbor’s wife died. A couple of weeks ago, I saw him in the grocery store and he told me she had cancer. He knows I’m a pastor and he asked for prayer for her. This morning I saw him walking his dog and I inquired about his wife. He said she passed away on June 11. From the time she was diagnosed with cancer, she died 3 months later. While I was on my way to work, I became overcome with tears and I cried. My heart was filled with sadness.
• I was sad for him - now he will be alone. He’s an older gentleman who walks his little dog each morning. I could hear the sadness in his voice as he talked about the situation. After I asked how she was doing, he immediately looked down and said she passed.
• I was sad because I had done so little to get to know him in the two and a half years he has been my neighbor. I had seen him several times and we even golfed together once, but I had not done more to get to know him. To let the light of Christ shine. I know at one time he had attended my church but I don’t know much else about his spiritual condition.
• I was sad that I didn’t know more about his spiritual condition and more specifically, the condition of his wife souls. Is she in heaven or not? I don’t know, but I should have found out before know, before June 11. Did I miss an opportunity?
• I was sad because, I don’t even remember his name!
All of these thoughts ran through my mind on my short drive to work. It made me realize, I need to get to know my neighbors. Jesus gave us the command to love the Lord with all of heart, mind and strength and then to love our neighbor as ourselves. How could I say I love my neighbors when I don’t even remember their name and neglected to show that I even cared in the midst of one of life’s toughest trials?! Get to know your neighbors.
Children:
I had Trey, Michael and Mason in the car with me and my two oldest could tell dad was a little upset. They asked a few questions about death and cancer and did the best they could for a 5 year old and 7 year old to process this deep stuff. But, I was so impressed at their childlike faith. When I suggested we pray for our neighbor, Michael said we should pray that God gives him his wife back. Trey actually said he wanted to pray after I prayed and his prayer for our neighbor was that God helps him to not be lonely. They showed more love for their neighbor than I had.
Birth:
Two weeks ago, we had our fourth little boy – Joshua Payton. He was 8 pounds, 13 ounces and he was 21 inches long. To say that I’m a proud papa would be an understatement. He is so beautiful and I love him so much. Before Ang and I even started to have kids, I always told everyone that I wanted 11 boys - my own football team. After we had Trey, I brought that number down to 5 boys – my own basketball team. Then after our third child, Mason, arrived, I was content to settle at just one more. So, now our life is what it is. We are the parents of 4 beautiful, healthy, wonderful boys. Words can’t express how blessed I am! Why in the world would God bless me with a desire of my heart? What’s his plan for my life, my family and the life of my boys? I have to think there is a reason our family is made up the way it is. I can’t wait for him to reveal his plan in the coming years. God is the giver of life and he has a plan for all of us – we just have to seek him to find out what that plan is.
Birthdays:
Yesterday was Angie’s Birthday. I felt bad for her because it was really a non-birthday. I was at church from 8am – 10:30pm. When I got home, she went to bed – exhausted from the day of being a mom to 4 kids. She has been worn out from dealing with Joshua – our 2 week old. He’s not eating very well and not sleeping very much at night. We were quickly reminded that for a 30 something year old parent of 4 kids, birthdays are just another day.
Friendships:
God has blessed Ang and me with so many wonderful friends. I would do them an injustice if I started to list them all because I know I would leave someone out. I am thankful for family friends like Julie Issenmann. She has been a part of our family for about 8 years now and Ang and I and the boys love her to death! She has the heart of an angel and she shows crazy love for my family. She has helped us and supported us in so many ways and we will forever be grateful and thankful for her. Everyone needs a friend like Julie Issenmann in their life.
Old Friends:
Last night on my way home from a long day of work, I called one of my old friends that I haven’t seen in 10 years or so. His name is Damon Frost, we used to work together. Damon taught me how to become a good salesman. When I was in college I started working at MCI doing telemarketing sales. Damon was one of the top sales people and I was fortunate enough to sit right across from him. After I had been there a few weeks I received my first commission check and I was pretty excited about it. I worked part time, only 20 hours a week, and my paycheck for the 2 weeks was $544. Damon noticed my excitement and asked to see my check and then he gave a chuckle. I asked him what was so funny. He told me when I learned to sell I would make some real money. He then handed me his pay stub that revealed he had made over $1400 for the same 2 week, period. I was a believer and from that point on I listened to every thing he told me to do. Damon went on from there to get married, have kids and move to Kansas City, MO where he and his wife still live. At the time I knew him, he wasn’t a Christian. But a few years ago he revealed to me that he and his family are now born again believers and are actively involved in his church. Last night while talking with him, I could see the fruit of his work. He told me about another young lady that used to work with us years ago at MCI who was recently diagnosed with cancer. He asked me to pray diligently for her and informed me of all the work he and his wife were doing to minister to her and meet her spiritual and physical needs. What a blessing that phone call was to me. I’m glad I placed that phone call to see how my friend was doing. Why don’t you pick up the phone and call an old friend today.
Word...
Pasta' Alex
posted by Pasta' Alex # 1:21 PM 0 Comments
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Evangelism Firecrackers There are a few young people in my ministry who are simply on fire for God. Everywhere they go, the tell people about Jesus and invite them to church. There are a couple of girls in particular that I am thinking of who are all out for Christ – Megan and Jessica.
Megan started coming to our Sunday evening services about a year and a half ago and since then, no lie, she has invited at least 25 people who have actually showed up. Many of them are still active parts of our ministry today because of the efforts of Megan. One of them in particular is Jessica. Jessica started coming shortly after Megan invited her, but, I must admit, her road to faithfulness was a little bumpy. Here’s what I love about both of them:
Megan has been faithfully committed to the Lord since high school. From the time she started going to youth group she would invite car loads full of her friends to go with her. She is one of those people with an infectious personality. People love being around her and she brings out the best in others. I call her my little “firecrackerâ€. She’s on fire for the Lord! Megan invited Jessica to come to our ministry because she knew that Jessica has a great heart but was in the middle of a very dramatic lifestyle.
Jessica started coming to the church “as isâ€. I love it! I mean she was in the middle of bad relationship, had a lot of baggage that she needed to deal with and brought to the table an extremist personality. Everything she does, she does all out and brings with her a passion and excitement that is unbridled. At first, there were many times when she had her ups and downs. God had to really work on her heart to get her to be sold out and fully committed to him. But now, she will tell you, there is no turning back.
So, Megan and Jessica are leading my firecracker evangelism explosion. They proclaim Jesus wherever they go. There are many times we will be out, at the movie or a restaurant and they will talk with the waiter or worker about Jesus and invite them to church. The other day we were at a local favorite eating establishment in the midst of a going away party for one of our guys. I see Jessica walk over to the table across the room and start talking to the guys. They were kicking back a few drinks celebrating the 21st birthday of one of the guys in their group. Right then and there, Jessica invited them to church and then called me over to introduce them to her Pastor. We looked forward to seeing them walk through our doors one Sunday evening.
Every ministry needs to find these types of firecrackers and then light them!
Megan and Jessica are evangelism firecrackers at their best. Megan invited Jessica and followed up with her until she was spiritually healthy enough to invited others and follow up with them. These two young ladies are impacting our ministry, our city and the whole body of Christ.
Can you dig it!?!?!
Word…
Pasta’ Alex
posted by Pasta' Alex # 4:41 PM 0 Comments
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Read this - I did! This morning in my devotion time, I read the book of 1 Peter. It's real short only 5 chapters, but WOW!!!! The book is full of spiritual meat! Although I have read it many times before, today it came alive to me. It was like God sat right next to me and told me many things that he wanted me to know. At the end of my quiet time I prayed and thanked the Lord for his Word and for revealing his truth to my heart.
I want to encourage you to sit down and read the book 1 Peter. When you do, grab a notebook and pen and take notes of all the things God says to your heart and mind in these 5 short chapters. The whole book is full of advice that the Apostle Peter gives to us Christians about life and our duties. He touches on subjects like: the requirements of holiness, submission to authority, suffering for Christ, and the way we should act as young Christians. I really encourage you to read it and then hit me back on myspace at myspace.com/abryant72 and tell me which passage from the book that really spoke to your heart.
I'll start with a passage that just hit me between the eyes:
1 Peter 1:13-16 "13 So prepare your minds for service and have self-control. All your hope should be for the gift of grace that will be yours when Jesus Christ is shown to you. 14 Now that you are obedient children of God do not live as you did in the past. You did not understand, so you did the evil things you wanted. 15 But be holy in all you do, just as God, the One who called you, is holy. 16 It is written in the Scriptures: "You must be holy, because I am holy."
I want to underline all the good parts of this passage, but I can't because it's all good. Read it again, prepare you minds for service and have self control. All your hopes should be in Christ. You are obedient children of God so live like it. Don't live like you did before you knew Christ, when you sinned at will. But live a holy and acceptable life to Christ. He's holy so you should be too.
Deep stuff!!! Please, do yourself a favor and READ 1 Peter!
Word...
P. Alex
PS. Don't forget to hit me back at myspace.com/abryant72 .
posted by Pasta' Alex # 9:15 AM 0 Comments
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Guest Blogger Today I spent a little time with a good friend this morning and he wanted to tell you something. You might know this friend, I have introduced many of you to him and several of you speak with him on a regular basis. He wanted to give you a few words of encouragement. Here's what he had to say:
“I am the true vine; my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that does not produce fruit. And he trims and cleans every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce even more fruit.  You are already clean because of the words I have spoken to you.  Remain in me, and I will remain in you. A branch cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in the vine. In the same way, you cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in me
“I am the vine, and you are the branches. If any remain in me and I remain in them, they produce much fruit. But without me they can do nothing.  If any do not remain in me, they are like a branch that is thrown away and then dies. People pick up dead branches, throw them into the fire, and burn them.  If you remain in me and follow my teachings, you can ask anything you want, and it will be given to you.  You should produce much fruit and show that you are my followers, which brings glory to my Father.
- Your friend, Jesus (John 15:1-8)
Isn't it cool that Jesus had a message for you today. He wants to speak to you every day to encourage you. Basically he is telling you and me to honor our commitment that we made to him and we will be blessed. Jesus of all people knows how hard this life is, but he says you can do the right thing, like he did! He offers you help. It's like he is saying, "I'm your big brother, stay close by my side and everything will be alright". Aiight?
Word...
Pasta' Alex
posted by Pasta' Alex # 9:31 AM 0 Comments
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Hell I have had something on my mind that I have wanted to share for quite some time now. I want to warn you that this message is not for the faint of heart, but is something that is very true and the reality of it will sink in one day for all of us. But, if you aren’t ready to hear about the truth of eternity, STOP READING NOW.
There have been 4 things in the past few weeks that have reminded me of the truth of the fact that all of us will spend eternity in either one of two places – either in heaven with Jesus or apart from him in the agony of HELL. God’s will is that none of us spend eternity in hell, but he knows that many people will because of the bad choices they make. He gives us the choice to chose how we will live our lives and as a result, where we will spend eternity. In Deuteronomy 30:15-19, he tells us to either choose life and prosperity or death and destruction. And he reminds us that we choose by the way we live our lives.
Are you living a life that is showing that you choose to live in heaven with Jesus?
Each of us needs to examine our lives and determine what is true concerning this question. We have to count the cost and decide if we think it’s worth it to live the way Christ wants us to live and outlines in the Bible. Sadly, many people are not going to live up to his standards and will end up burning in hell. I said earlier there were 4 things that made me think of the urgency of spreading this warning to people:
1. A few weeks ago I heard one of my favorite authors – John Beveere, talk about his book “Driven by Eternityâ€. In the book he talks about the decisions that we each have to make in this life that will determine where we will spend our eternity. It’s a challenging book that is full of scriptures that will help us make wise choices concerning our eternity.
2. I heard a local pastor preach on TV about how terrible hell is going to be. He painted the picture of the pain, suffering, agony, and torment that will happen in hell. He challenged everyone to warn all everyone they know about such a place and inform them of what they can do to avoid going there.
3. I recently read a book called “23 Minutes in Hell†by Bill Wiese. In this book he tells the story of how terrible hell is going to be based on a vision God gave him in a trip to hell. His warning is for everyone to avoid it.
4. A couple of days ago I saw a video clip on the internet that sends a chilling message to avoid going to hell. Here is the link to see the video: http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=1b5bd6e3e034d00b4f73
All of us need to realize the reality of hell and make sure we are living our lives in a way that will ensure we avoid it. Jesus wants us to spend eternity with him and died on the cross so that we can have the opportunity to receive a pardon for our sins, thus giving us the opportunity to live with him forever in heaven. We have to choose to make it to heaven by the way we live our lives. As well, we have a responsibility to help other people make this choice as well. Jesus tells us in Matt 28:19-20 to go everywhere and make more disciples in his name, teaching them to OBEY everything he has told us to do.
Make it happen!
Word…
Pasta’ Alex
posted by Pasta' Alex # 11:33 AM 0 Comments
Thursday, February 21, 2008
May The Lord Bless You In the days of old, the Lord told the priests to bless the people with a simple prayer. The priest would say to the people:
The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.
Do you realize that God wants to bless you? He wants to shower blessings on us, his children. Just like a parent longs to hold their children and love on them, God desires that kind of interaction with us. He longs to hold us in his arms, love us and hug us, show his fatherly affection towards us and give us great gifts and other blessings. Parents love to give their children great gifts for their birthdays and Christmas and even at unexpected times – taking them to the store to let them pick out a book, a toy, a special treat. These are gifts of love, small blessings to let the child know they are loved. Our Heavenly Father loves to give gifts too!
“ Every good action and every perfect gift is from God. These good gifts come down from the Creator of the sun, moon, and stars, who does not change like their shifting shadows.â€
-James 1:17 ncv
As any parent will tell you, sometimes kids misbehave and (as a result) lose out on special treats or blessings that had been planned for them. At these times, parents don’t enjoy punishing their children (often they were looking forward to the reward as much as the children). Nevertheless, they find it necessary to withhold the blessing in order to teach the children how to be obedient. The same is true of God.
All of God’s children act badly sometimes; it’s called sin. God cannot bless our life when we are in sin. It goes against who He is and everything he’s trying to teach us. Word to the wise: When you fail, seek forgiveness immediately! Don’t hold on to your sin. Let it go and repent as soon as you realize you have sinned. Get your heart back into the position where God can bless your life!
Hanging on to sin in our life has a dangerous consequence: it starts to change our hearts. Our passion and fire for the Lord becomes cold. It is during these times of unrepentant sin that God is forced to use more severe punishment to drive sin from our hearts. He does it because he loves us so much. It’s his way of encouraging us back to the spot where he can bless us!
Psalms 139 starts and ends by acknowledging the need for God to search us and know our hearts. This needs to be our prayer on a daily basis. This is how we ensure that sin doesn’t get its grip on our hearts.
There is a song that I love to listen to by Jonah 33, the lyrics are:
“Search me, know me, try me and see every worthless affection hidden in me.
All I’m asking for is that you cleanse me Lord.
Create in me a heart that’s clean.
Conquer the power of secret shame; come wash away the guilty stain of all my sin.
Clothe me in robes of righteousness; cover my nakedness with grace. All of my life
before you now, I humbly bring.â€
When we are actively walking in obedience before the Lord, actively seeking his will and righteousness – we can boldly go before him asking God to bless us. So, I pray for you today:
The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.
Word…
Pasta’ Alex
posted by Pasta' Alex # 3:22 PM 0 Comments
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Love We just finished mission’s week at our church where we had several missionaries from all over the world helping raise support and awareness of the many needs from around the world. Although I have been a part of many missions’ banquets in the past, I must say that I was challenged beyond compare. The focus for the week was for each person to seek God as to what He would have them do in order to spread the gospel around the world. We can tell by reading His word that he definitely wants us to do something because Matthew 28:19 tells us to go into the entire world and preach the gospel. It is God’s will that none should parish. He loves us so much that he doesn’t want to see us die and spend eternity apart from Him.
1 John 4:7-9 tells us about God’s love. God is love and love comes from him. He demonstrates his love to us in this, He sent his only son, Jesus, into the world to save us from our sins so that we could live. We need to learn to love him enough to give our life back to him for his service. This should be done out of love.
But there is a competition for our love. Satan competes for our love by trying to distract us with things of this world. He wants us to love the wrong things so that we don’t have the relationship with God that he desires us to have with Him. In 1 John 2:15, we are given the following warning concerning dealing with the plans of our enemy…
“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world,
the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world – the
cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has
and does – comes not from the father but from the world. The world and
its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.â€
Don’t let Satan fool you into loving the wrong things. Don’t love the world or anything in it!
Word…
Pasta’ Alex
posted by Pasta' Alex # 8:45 AM 0 Comments
PAST BLOGS:
Thoughts from the Morning of 9.4.08
Evangelism Firecrackers
Read this - I did!
Guest Blogger Today
Hell
May The Lord Bless You
Love
Working Alone
Praying in the Harvest
You know what time it is!
Archives:
09/2006 10/2006 11/2006 12/2006 01/2007 02/2007 03/2007 04/2007 06/2007 07/2007 08/2007 09/2007 10/2007 11/2007 02/2008 04/2008 05/2008 08/2008 09/2008
Thoughts from the Morning of 9.4.08Neighbors:
My neighbor’s wife died. A couple of weeks ago, I saw him in the grocery store and he told me she had cancer. He knows I’m a pastor and he asked for prayer for her. This morning I saw him walking his dog and I inquired about his wife. He said she passed away on June 11. From the time she was diagnosed with cancer, she died 3 months later. While I was on my way to work, I became overcome with tears and I cried. My heart was filled with sadness.
• I was sad for him - now he will be alone. He’s an older gentleman who walks his little dog each morning. I could hear the sadness in his voice as he talked about the situation. After I asked how she was doing, he immediately looked down and said she passed.
• I was sad because I had done so little to get to know him in the two and a half years he has been my neighbor. I had seen him several times and we even golfed together once, but I had not done more to get to know him. To let the light of Christ shine. I know at one time he had attended my church but I don’t know much else about his spiritual condition.
• I was sad that I didn’t know more about his spiritual condition and more specifically, the condition of his wife souls. Is she in heaven or not? I don’t know, but I should have found out before know, before June 11. Did I miss an opportunity?
• I was sad because, I don’t even remember his name!
All of these thoughts ran through my mind on my short drive to work. It made me realize, I need to get to know my neighbors. Jesus gave us the command to love the Lord with all of heart, mind and strength and then to love our neighbor as ourselves. How could I say I love my neighbors when I don’t even remember their name and neglected to show that I even cared in the midst of one of life’s toughest trials?! Get to know your neighbors.
Children:
I had Trey, Michael and Mason in the car with me and my two oldest could tell dad was a little upset. They asked a few questions about death and cancer and did the best they could for a 5 year old and 7 year old to process this deep stuff. But, I was so impressed at their childlike faith. When I suggested we pray for our neighbor, Michael said we should pray that God gives him his wife back. Trey actually said he wanted to pray after I prayed and his prayer for our neighbor was that God helps him to not be lonely. They showed more love for their neighbor than I had.
Birth:
Two weeks ago, we had our fourth little boy – Joshua Payton. He was 8 pounds, 13 ounces and he was 21 inches long. To say that I’m a proud papa would be an understatement. He is so beautiful and I love him so much. Before Ang and I even started to have kids, I always told everyone that I wanted 11 boys - my own football team. After we had Trey, I brought that number down to 5 boys – my own basketball team. Then after our third child, Mason, arrived, I was content to settle at just one more. So, now our life is what it is. We are the parents of 4 beautiful, healthy, wonderful boys. Words can’t express how blessed I am! Why in the world would God bless me with a desire of my heart? What’s his plan for my life, my family and the life of my boys? I have to think there is a reason our family is made up the way it is. I can’t wait for him to reveal his plan in the coming years. God is the giver of life and he has a plan for all of us – we just have to seek him to find out what that plan is.
Birthdays:
Yesterday was Angie’s Birthday. I felt bad for her because it was really a non-birthday. I was at church from 8am – 10:30pm. When I got home, she went to bed – exhausted from the day of being a mom to 4 kids. She has been worn out from dealing with Joshua – our 2 week old. He’s not eating very well and not sleeping very much at night. We were quickly reminded that for a 30 something year old parent of 4 kids, birthdays are just another day.
Friendships:
God has blessed Ang and me with so many wonderful friends. I would do them an injustice if I started to list them all because I know I would leave someone out. I am thankful for family friends like Julie Issenmann. She has been a part of our family for about 8 years now and Ang and I and the boys love her to death! She has the heart of an angel and she shows crazy love for my family. She has helped us and supported us in so many ways and we will forever be grateful and thankful for her. Everyone needs a friend like Julie Issenmann in their life.
Old Friends:
Last night on my way home from a long day of work, I called one of my old friends that I haven’t seen in 10 years or so. His name is Damon Frost, we used to work together. Damon taught me how to become a good salesman. When I was in college I started working at MCI doing telemarketing sales. Damon was one of the top sales people and I was fortunate enough to sit right across from him. After I had been there a few weeks I received my first commission check and I was pretty excited about it. I worked part time, only 20 hours a week, and my paycheck for the 2 weeks was $544. Damon noticed my excitement and asked to see my check and then he gave a chuckle. I asked him what was so funny. He told me when I learned to sell I would make some real money. He then handed me his pay stub that revealed he had made over $1400 for the same 2 week, period. I was a believer and from that point on I listened to every thing he told me to do. Damon went on from there to get married, have kids and move to Kansas City, MO where he and his wife still live. At the time I knew him, he wasn’t a Christian. But a few years ago he revealed to me that he and his family are now born again believers and are actively involved in his church. Last night while talking with him, I could see the fruit of his work. He told me about another young lady that used to work with us years ago at MCI who was recently diagnosed with cancer. He asked me to pray diligently for her and informed me of all the work he and his wife were doing to minister to her and meet her spiritual and physical needs. What a blessing that phone call was to me. I’m glad I placed that phone call to see how my friend was doing. Why don’t you pick up the phone and call an old friend today.
Word...
Pasta' Alex
posted by Pasta' Alex # 1:21 PM 0 Comments
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Evangelism Firecrackers There are a few young people in my ministry who are simply on fire for God. Everywhere they go, the tell people about Jesus and invite them to church. There are a couple of girls in particular that I am thinking of who are all out for Christ – Megan and Jessica.
Megan started coming to our Sunday evening services about a year and a half ago and since then, no lie, she has invited at least 25 people who have actually showed up. Many of them are still active parts of our ministry today because of the efforts of Megan. One of them in particular is Jessica. Jessica started coming shortly after Megan invited her, but, I must admit, her road to faithfulness was a little bumpy. Here’s what I love about both of them:
Megan has been faithfully committed to the Lord since high school. From the time she started going to youth group she would invite car loads full of her friends to go with her. She is one of those people with an infectious personality. People love being around her and she brings out the best in others. I call her my little “firecrackerâ€. She’s on fire for the Lord! Megan invited Jessica to come to our ministry because she knew that Jessica has a great heart but was in the middle of a very dramatic lifestyle.
Jessica started coming to the church “as isâ€. I love it! I mean she was in the middle of bad relationship, had a lot of baggage that she needed to deal with and brought to the table an extremist personality. Everything she does, she does all out and brings with her a passion and excitement that is unbridled. At first, there were many times when she had her ups and downs. God had to really work on her heart to get her to be sold out and fully committed to him. But now, she will tell you, there is no turning back.
So, Megan and Jessica are leading my firecracker evangelism explosion. They proclaim Jesus wherever they go. There are many times we will be out, at the movie or a restaurant and they will talk with the waiter or worker about Jesus and invite them to church. The other day we were at a local favorite eating establishment in the midst of a going away party for one of our guys. I see Jessica walk over to the table across the room and start talking to the guys. They were kicking back a few drinks celebrating the 21st birthday of one of the guys in their group. Right then and there, Jessica invited them to church and then called me over to introduce them to her Pastor. We looked forward to seeing them walk through our doors one Sunday evening.
Every ministry needs to find these types of firecrackers and then light them!
Megan and Jessica are evangelism firecrackers at their best. Megan invited Jessica and followed up with her until she was spiritually healthy enough to invited others and follow up with them. These two young ladies are impacting our ministry, our city and the whole body of Christ.
Can you dig it!?!?!
Word…
Pasta’ Alex
posted by Pasta' Alex # 4:41 PM 0 Comments
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Read this - I did! This morning in my devotion time, I read the book of 1 Peter. It's real short only 5 chapters, but WOW!!!! The book is full of spiritual meat! Although I have read it many times before, today it came alive to me. It was like God sat right next to me and told me many things that he wanted me to know. At the end of my quiet time I prayed and thanked the Lord for his Word and for revealing his truth to my heart.
I want to encourage you to sit down and read the book 1 Peter. When you do, grab a notebook and pen and take notes of all the things God says to your heart and mind in these 5 short chapters. The whole book is full of advice that the Apostle Peter gives to us Christians about life and our duties. He touches on subjects like: the requirements of holiness, submission to authority, suffering for Christ, and the way we should act as young Christians. I really encourage you to read it and then hit me back on myspace at myspace.com/abryant72 and tell me which passage from the book that really spoke to your heart.
I'll start with a passage that just hit me between the eyes:
1 Peter 1:13-16 "13 So prepare your minds for service and have self-control. All your hope should be for the gift of grace that will be yours when Jesus Christ is shown to you. 14 Now that you are obedient children of God do not live as you did in the past. You did not understand, so you did the evil things you wanted. 15 But be holy in all you do, just as God, the One who called you, is holy. 16 It is written in the Scriptures: "You must be holy, because I am holy."
I want to underline all the good parts of this passage, but I can't because it's all good. Read it again, prepare you minds for service and have self control. All your hopes should be in Christ. You are obedient children of God so live like it. Don't live like you did before you knew Christ, when you sinned at will. But live a holy and acceptable life to Christ. He's holy so you should be too.
Deep stuff!!! Please, do yourself a favor and READ 1 Peter!
Word...
P. Alex
PS. Don't forget to hit me back at myspace.com/abryant72 .
posted by Pasta' Alex # 9:15 AM 0 Comments
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Guest Blogger Today I spent a little time with a good friend this morning and he wanted to tell you something. You might know this friend, I have introduced many of you to him and several of you speak with him on a regular basis. He wanted to give you a few words of encouragement. Here's what he had to say:
“I am the true vine; my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that does not produce fruit. And he trims and cleans every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce even more fruit.  You are already clean because of the words I have spoken to you.  Remain in me, and I will remain in you. A branch cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in the vine. In the same way, you cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in me
“I am the vine, and you are the branches. If any remain in me and I remain in them, they produce much fruit. But without me they can do nothing.  If any do not remain in me, they are like a branch that is thrown away and then dies. People pick up dead branches, throw them into the fire, and burn them.  If you remain in me and follow my teachings, you can ask anything you want, and it will be given to you.  You should produce much fruit and show that you are my followers, which brings glory to my Father.
- Your friend, Jesus (John 15:1-8)
Isn't it cool that Jesus had a message for you today. He wants to speak to you every day to encourage you. Basically he is telling you and me to honor our commitment that we made to him and we will be blessed. Jesus of all people knows how hard this life is, but he says you can do the right thing, like he did! He offers you help. It's like he is saying, "I'm your big brother, stay close by my side and everything will be alright". Aiight?
Word...
Pasta' Alex
posted by Pasta' Alex # 9:31 AM 0 Comments
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Hell I have had something on my mind that I have wanted to share for quite some time now. I want to warn you that this message is not for the faint of heart, but is something that is very true and the reality of it will sink in one day for all of us. But, if you aren’t ready to hear about the truth of eternity, STOP READING NOW.
There have been 4 things in the past few weeks that have reminded me of the truth of the fact that all of us will spend eternity in either one of two places – either in heaven with Jesus or apart from him in the agony of HELL. God’s will is that none of us spend eternity in hell, but he knows that many people will because of the bad choices they make. He gives us the choice to chose how we will live our lives and as a result, where we will spend eternity. In Deuteronomy 30:15-19, he tells us to either choose life and prosperity or death and destruction. And he reminds us that we choose by the way we live our lives.
Are you living a life that is showing that you choose to live in heaven with Jesus?
Each of us needs to examine our lives and determine what is true concerning this question. We have to count the cost and decide if we think it’s worth it to live the way Christ wants us to live and outlines in the Bible. Sadly, many people are not going to live up to his standards and will end up burning in hell. I said earlier there were 4 things that made me think of the urgency of spreading this warning to people:
1. A few weeks ago I heard one of my favorite authors – John Beveere, talk about his book “Driven by Eternityâ€. In the book he talks about the decisions that we each have to make in this life that will determine where we will spend our eternity. It’s a challenging book that is full of scriptures that will help us make wise choices concerning our eternity.
2. I heard a local pastor preach on TV about how terrible hell is going to be. He painted the picture of the pain, suffering, agony, and torment that will happen in hell. He challenged everyone to warn all everyone they know about such a place and inform them of what they can do to avoid going there.
3. I recently read a book called “23 Minutes in Hell†by Bill Wiese. In this book he tells the story of how terrible hell is going to be based on a vision God gave him in a trip to hell. His warning is for everyone to avoid it.
4. A couple of days ago I saw a video clip on the internet that sends a chilling message to avoid going to hell. Here is the link to see the video: http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=1b5bd6e3e034d00b4f73
All of us need to realize the reality of hell and make sure we are living our lives in a way that will ensure we avoid it. Jesus wants us to spend eternity with him and died on the cross so that we can have the opportunity to receive a pardon for our sins, thus giving us the opportunity to live with him forever in heaven. We have to choose to make it to heaven by the way we live our lives. As well, we have a responsibility to help other people make this choice as well. Jesus tells us in Matt 28:19-20 to go everywhere and make more disciples in his name, teaching them to OBEY everything he has told us to do.
Make it happen!
Word…
Pasta’ Alex
posted by Pasta' Alex # 11:33 AM 0 Comments
Thursday, February 21, 2008
May The Lord Bless You In the days of old, the Lord told the priests to bless the people with a simple prayer. The priest would say to the people:
The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.
Do you realize that God wants to bless you? He wants to shower blessings on us, his children. Just like a parent longs to hold their children and love on them, God desires that kind of interaction with us. He longs to hold us in his arms, love us and hug us, show his fatherly affection towards us and give us great gifts and other blessings. Parents love to give their children great gifts for their birthdays and Christmas and even at unexpected times – taking them to the store to let them pick out a book, a toy, a special treat. These are gifts of love, small blessings to let the child know they are loved. Our Heavenly Father loves to give gifts too!
“ Every good action and every perfect gift is from God. These good gifts come down from the Creator of the sun, moon, and stars, who does not change like their shifting shadows.â€
-James 1:17 ncv
As any parent will tell you, sometimes kids misbehave and (as a result) lose out on special treats or blessings that had been planned for them. At these times, parents don’t enjoy punishing their children (often they were looking forward to the reward as much as the children). Nevertheless, they find it necessary to withhold the blessing in order to teach the children how to be obedient. The same is true of God.
All of God’s children act badly sometimes; it’s called sin. God cannot bless our life when we are in sin. It goes against who He is and everything he’s trying to teach us. Word to the wise: When you fail, seek forgiveness immediately! Don’t hold on to your sin. Let it go and repent as soon as you realize you have sinned. Get your heart back into the position where God can bless your life!
Hanging on to sin in our life has a dangerous consequence: it starts to change our hearts. Our passion and fire for the Lord becomes cold. It is during these times of unrepentant sin that God is forced to use more severe punishment to drive sin from our hearts. He does it because he loves us so much. It’s his way of encouraging us back to the spot where he can bless us!
Psalms 139 starts and ends by acknowledging the need for God to search us and know our hearts. This needs to be our prayer on a daily basis. This is how we ensure that sin doesn’t get its grip on our hearts.
There is a song that I love to listen to by Jonah 33, the lyrics are:
“Search me, know me, try me and see every worthless affection hidden in me.
All I’m asking for is that you cleanse me Lord.
Create in me a heart that’s clean.
Conquer the power of secret shame; come wash away the guilty stain of all my sin.
Clothe me in robes of righteousness; cover my nakedness with grace. All of my life
before you now, I humbly bring.â€
When we are actively walking in obedience before the Lord, actively seeking his will and righteousness – we can boldly go before him asking God to bless us. So, I pray for you today:
The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.
Word…
Pasta’ Alex
posted by Pasta' Alex # 3:22 PM 0 Comments
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Love We just finished mission’s week at our church where we had several missionaries from all over the world helping raise support and awareness of the many needs from around the world. Although I have been a part of many missions’ banquets in the past, I must say that I was challenged beyond compare. The focus for the week was for each person to seek God as to what He would have them do in order to spread the gospel around the world. We can tell by reading His word that he definitely wants us to do something because Matthew 28:19 tells us to go into the entire world and preach the gospel. It is God’s will that none should parish. He loves us so much that he doesn’t want to see us die and spend eternity apart from Him.
1 John 4:7-9 tells us about God’s love. God is love and love comes from him. He demonstrates his love to us in this, He sent his only son, Jesus, into the world to save us from our sins so that we could live. We need to learn to love him enough to give our life back to him for his service. This should be done out of love.
But there is a competition for our love. Satan competes for our love by trying to distract us with things of this world. He wants us to love the wrong things so that we don’t have the relationship with God that he desires us to have with Him. In 1 John 2:15, we are given the following warning concerning dealing with the plans of our enemy…
“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world,
the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world – the
cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has
and does – comes not from the father but from the world. The world and
its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.â€
Don’t let Satan fool you into loving the wrong things. Don’t love the world or anything in it!
Word…
Pasta’ Alex
posted by Pasta' Alex # 8:45 AM 0 Comments
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