Holes

“I said in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself." But behold, this also was vanity.”

(Ecclesiastes 2:1)

When you look through chapter two you see that Solomon wasn’t seeking God, but self-fulfillment. The first five words of verse two tell it all, “I said in my heart…” There may be no “I” in “Team”, but there sure is one big “I” in chapter two…Solomon. He had decided to take his riches & power & indulge himself with everything, good or bad, that he could think of, to fulfill his life, the same as we often do.

A businessman becomes a workaholic to fill the hole of pride. A girl finds only guys who want empty sexual relationships, while trying to fill the hole of love never received from an absent father. A drug addict gets high to fill the hole of low self-esteem; a spouse cheats to fill the hole of loneliness. A church member takes on the straw that “strains” the camel's back to fill the hole of self-righteousness. A drink to relax, one more tattoo to stand out, a nicer car to hang with the Jones', another surgery to look younger, a pill to make you happy, social networking to feel needed, staying busy to forget, revealing clothing for attention, trying it once to fit in...AHHHH!!! It's enough to drive you crazy.

When we do things to fill the holes of emptiness in our lives, good or bad, instead of turning to God for the filling…we will always come to the same conclusion Solomon did…it is all “vanity”, it doesn’t last. So we find ourselves having to continue to do those things trying to get self-fulfillment & all they bring is more of the same: harder work, more addictions, emptier loneliness, never giving satisfaction, but always giving more of the same…emptiness.

God wants to work through the hard times in your life. He wants you to allow Him to solve your problems. He wants you to stop trying to solve them yourself & fall back into His arms, His care, His peace. Let Him fill those empty holes & stop trying to distract yourself with the things of this world. Real fulfillment will only come through a life sold out to Jesus. A life that says “Here I am Lord, send me”. Not that it will be a bed of roses or without storms, but the holes…He will fill everyone. Turn to Him, He’s waiting on you.

Vern

Vanishing Vern

“He must increase, but I must decrease.”
(John 3:30)

It’s more often than not that I seek God to work in an area of my life, turning that situation “totally” over to Him…& still try to fix it myself. But what can I say, I’m a man…we love to fix things. We want to take care of our problems. It maybe that we don’t think that God is doing this just right or maybe He’s not doing it fast enough for our tastes or whatever the case, we often want something fixed so bad, that we will do all we can to fix it…even if we are making it worse. It’s like standing in quicksand and being told to be still, that help is on its way, but instead of being still we fight trying to get ourselves out & end up speeding up the process of sinking to our death.

I was reading a verse the other day that really stuck out to me because of a tough time that I am in right now. The verse is actually one where John the Baptist is sharing with his disciples that Jesus was the Christ, not himself & went on to say that “He must increase, but I must decrease”, though John was speaking about himself & his ministry & how it was about Jesus not himself, God has brought me back to this verse & said. “Vern”, He calls me Vern too… “Vern please let me handle this situation that I have allowed into your life for a very distinct reason that I know, but have not revealed to you. One that I will be glorified in & not you, it will be for my kingdoms purpose & not the happiness of the little kingdom of Vern. But it will cause you & everyone around you to want to draw near to me…if you would just be still, quiet, humble & allow Me to work.” In other words God said that, “He must increase” & “I must decrease” in the fix-it department.

A. B. Simpson once stated, “If we wholly trust an interest to God, we must keep our hands off it; and He will guard it for us better than him; fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass. Things may seem to be going all wrong, but He knows as well as we; and He will arise in the right moment if we are really trusting Him so fully as to let Him work in His own way and time. There is nothing so masterly as inactivity in some things, and there is nothing so hurtful as restless working, for God has undertaken to work His sovereign will.”

Vern

Shakin' It Up

"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat..."(Luke 22:31)

Satan's plans for Simon Peter were to destroy him, to break him down, to wear him out. He demanded, some say requested, to have the opportunity to sift Peter like wheat. To most of us that sounds terrible, even more so when we check out what Jesus said in Luke 22:31. He didn't say, "He asked but I stood up and said no way, no way your laying a hand on my boy Peter". No, Jesus said, "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers." WHAT???? I've prayed for you? Are you kidding?? When you have turned again?? What are you saying? You're going to let him go through this? What happened to, “You are my strong tower refuge when I'm weak and all that??

It does sound horrible, but Jesus knew what He was doing. He knew what Peter was about to suffer through , He knew that on the other side (although Simon couldn’t see it for the cloud of fear), that glorious things were looming on the horizon. I’m sure as Simon Peter lay crying in a pool of tears outside of the house of the high priest, after hearing the third crow of the rooster and realizing that he had betrayed Jesus, just as he was told he would. I’m sure he could not see himself standing before thousands of people proclaiming that the Jesus that he betrayed was the messiah and in that, see three thousand come to accept Jesus as savior. But Jesus did. Jesus saw it all.

What Satan wanted to do was to take Peter and shake the good out of him, just like when they would sift wheat. But evidently he didn’t think about what part is kept after the sifting. When wheat is sifted, the bad is thrown away and the good is used. God allowed Peter to be sifted, so as to make him into a man of God. To sift away the unusable and keep the usable. Often times God allows things into our lives as Christians to sift us. To shake us up, to separate the good from the bad. But we have to be willing to be sifted, to follow Him no matter how painful at times it may be. To say though everyone abandons me, I will still have faith in my God. If we get to that point, then nothing but glorious things will be looming in our unseen horizons.

Vern

What No Tears?

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
(Romans 6:23)

(After reading, check out movie trailer below for "October Baby")

Through the years of ministry that God has allowed me to be involved in, I’ve seen several styles of witnessing, some effective & some not so much. Some from a heart of compassion & love, some from a “holier than thou” heart & some from what seemed like a heart that wanted that person to go to Hell if they didn’t accept Christ. Now as a Bible believing Christian I fully understand that if a person dies without accepting Christ, he or she will spend an eternity in Hell. But I do not understand a person, who would call themselves a follower of Jesus Christ that would be happy that someone would enter into an eternity without God, with the attitude “If they turn down God, then that’s what they get, good riddance”.

D.L. Moody said that "When we preach on Hell, we might at least do it with tears in our eyes." C. H. Surgeon said "If sinners be dammed, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for." Moody & Spurgeon some of the greatest pastors to ever live, had the heart for the lost that we all should have. They not only prayed for their conversion, but they wept at the thought of someone missing out on experiencing an eternity with God. Their hearts were as stern about Hell as Christ’s, but also as tender as Christ’s on the thought of someone’s death without salvation. It makes me sick to see someone with the attitude of “well that’s what they get”.

We have to remember that non-believers are lost sheep, lost sheep to be lead to Christ, not driven like cattle. We do not need to ever reveal to someone that “…the wages of sin is death…” & never reveal that “…the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We need to…we have to share that the wages of sin is death, but what use is it to even share that fact without backing it up with the most important & the whole reason for that verse…that the gift of God, the grace that we don’t deserve, Jesus Christ, is eternal life.

Have a heart for those you witness to, or do not witness at all.

Truth From The Pit

"No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light."
(2 Corinthians 11:14)

(After this blog, check out new video below)

Warning do not try this at home...I'm not a professional!!!!!

While getting ready for work this morning I was in search of the deodorant, but quickly realized that both sticks were gone. My wife had taken one when she went out of town & my son had the other at the beach, which left me scrambling for a backup. While running from bathroom to bathroom I noticed, what looked like the deodorant container that we had received while in the hospital many years ago, (we throw nothing away). So I shook up the roll-on deo & coated the pits quickly, I was running late & had to make some coffee for the road.

I ran into the kitchen & started the coffee when I realized that my arm pits felt like I had walked on crutches for seventy miles…they were burning & felt raw. The pain was almost unbearable…it felt like some kind of Vietnam torture was going on in the axilla area of my body. Almost in tears I rushed into the bathroom, grabbed the hospital deodorant to see if there was some sort of expiration date or side effects that could cause such agony, when I realized, to my utter amazement, that the container that I had rolled up under my arm to keep me fresh, was Bio-Freeze. I don’t know what you know about Bio-Freeze, but it is for sore muscles, kind of a liquefied, very, very, did I mention very strong acting Ben-gay. I also found out that you can not wash it off & whatever amount of water you put on it to stop the burning is equivalent to putting out a fire with a bucket of gasoline.

As weird as it is, while walking around with my arms over my head praying for the pain to go away, I was reminded of how Satan deceives. In 2 Corinthians we see that "Satan disguises himself as an angel of light". In some cases we find ourselves following after him in search of our needs & end up with nothing but trouble with our spiritual arms over our head praying for help. We were deceived...still our fault...but none the less deceived.

I can't blame the Bio-Freeze, it just looked like what I needed, I didn't check it out, I just grabbed it up & used it. Many times we can't blame anyone but ourselves, not even Satan, for sin coming into our lives. James 1 says "But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death." It tells us that it is our fault, then goes on to say, "Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change". Notice the difference in James 1 & First Corinthians 11, James states "The Father of lights" then in First Corinthians its says "Satan disguises himself as an angel of light", Satan disguises himself...he is not light, God is, Satan has to pretend to be light in order to deceive us. He can't do it when he is himself...only when he is disquised. We just have to be on the watch & ready at all times.

By the way, using Bio-Freeze is very, very painful...but the best deodorant that I've ever used. It's a man's deodorant, not for the weak.

Vern

Needs Salt

"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.”
Matthew 5:13

What an odd statement for Jesus to make, “You are the salt of the earth”, so what…do we burn peoples cuts, do we go good on watermelon…or maybe we give people high blood pressure, what could Jesus possibly mean by “salt of the earth”? Let’s take a look at it from what that time period used salt for.

1) Maybe He meant we are worth something. Ever heard that someone was not worth their salt? During the days of the Roman Empire, the soldiers would often be paid in salt. Wow, those Romans really like to salt their food…but that wasn’t it, the power to control a population's salt supply was power over life and death due to the preservative qualities of salt. The soldier could use the salt for his family’s food supply, or sell it for money either way, salt was valuable.

2) We as Christians are to be the preservers of the culture. Think about this, what would the world be like today if there were no spirit filled believers in Jesus Christ…now I’m not talking about people who just go to church or call themselves Christians…but those who truly are…what would this world be like without them, without the Holy Spirit, without the word of God? Christianity contributed much to the world in the way of Science, human freedom, morality, healthcare, ect… so what would the world be like without true, spirit filled Christians…checkout the book of Revelations. When there is no more Christian influence, there will be no more moral restraint.

Salt also had healing powers…ever got salt on a cut or went swimming in the ocean & the next day your acne was way better? Salt burns when it touches a wound…we at times have to speak out against things that make people angry or uncomfortable. But that’s what it often takes to preserve a culture for Christ. People who are willing to stand up & speak out against sin.

3) We need to be the flavor & zest of life. Ever ate a hamburger that wasn’t seasoned with salt…not very tasty, salt just makes it taste better.
With all the bad that is happening in the world today, it’s easy for people to become depressed & lacking in hope. We as Christians should be those who find hope in the worst of times, those who can direct the way to true lasting hope & joy. Often people think Christian, they think of someone who can’t have fun & look as though they keep a dip of pickle slices between their cheek & gum, always uptight always sour. But that’s not at all what Jesus was like. Do you see children running up to a sour, grumbling, irritable man? No…Jesus was a real man, one that was serious when needed to be, but more than loving and compassionate, so much so that people were drawn to Him. We are to be filled with hope, hope that bubbles over & makes an impact on others. People should want to be around us, they should want what we have…Jesus.

The world looks hopeless, but Christians living a solid Christian life, makes life look palatable.

4) To go along with number 3…we should be like popcorn. Huh??? You know like movie popcorn…not outrageously priced but so salty, that we make people thirsty. When you go to the movies and buy the $10 small, $20 med or the “put my home up for collateral” large…it is always very salty, why? So you will need to buy a “give up my first born child” mega drink. It’s to make you thirsty!!! We also as Christians should make people thirst for Jesus Christ. We should live our lives in such a way that people see what we have in Jesus & they thirst for Him.

All in all, salt was the best way to describe what we need to be in this world as Christians. Understanding that Jesus said that He makes us worth something & by that we need to allow the Holy Spirit to work through us to help preserve the culture, make life palatable & draw people to Jesus.

Vern

Crisis of Darkness

I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

(John 12:46)

On November 4th 1979 52 citizens of the U.S. were held hostage for 444 days, in what was known as the Iran Hostage Crisis, I was about 8 or 9 when I remember seeing the news footage of the hostages being lead outside of the U.S. Embassy in Iran blindfolded. It’s been thirty years since & watching the reunion of the captives & seeing the old footage brings back memories, for me it was what Star Wars figure I wanted next, but for Barry Rosen, one of the 52, there was a much different, more terrifying memory of intense interrogation and pain. His quote was “For 2 months we didn’t see any light at all. We were absolutely in total darkness.” Can you imagine being in total darkness for 2 months? No sunshine, no beautiful candlelight…just darkness.

Total darkness is a place that a lot of people today, if they are honest, are smack dab in the middle of , it may be the darkness caused by problems in a Christians life that they have no control over, like an unwanted divorce, money trouble, loss of a job, loss of a loved one or a teen gone haywire. The darkness maybe from never placing their faith in Jesus, but whatever the cause…it’s not a fun place to be. Some may disguise it well…a Christian may put on a mask to go to church so everyone will think things are great & an unbeliever may search for happiness by partying…either way they are both in a form of darkness & despite the outward appearance…they are hurting.

In John 12:46 Jesus said that He had “come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.” We can come out of the darkness…but we won’t do it alone…allow Jesus to guide you out. If you’re a Christian get with God & ask Him to guide you through this & get with another believer & ask for prayer & allow them to counsel with you. If you’re lost…come to Jesus now…don’t put it off any longer…the darkness only gets darker…but there is hope...hope in Christ.

Vern

Automatic Love Service

“…for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."
(Luke 10:42)

When Jesus sat down in Martha & Mary’s house, so did Mary…right at Jesus feet. She was intently listening to His every word, not noticing that she had left her sister Martha to do all the work…but Martha noticed. Her words to Jesus were, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” Jesus told Martha that she was worried about too many things…but Mary was showing her love for Jesus, with her worship. Her heart was solely on Christ & His words, He said that “Mary has chosen the good part…” and that it would not be taken from her.

When it comes to a decision between love & service Jesus wants our love much more than anything else & often our service can get in the way of our love for Him. Charles H. Spurgeon once said: 

“Give us a church that loves Jesus Christ much. You will have mighty prayer-meetings; you will have a holy membership; you will have liberal giving to the cause of Christ; you will have hearty praising of his name; you will have careful walking before the world; you will have earnest endeavors for the conversion of sinners. Missions at home and abroad will be set on foot when love is fervent.” 

When people truly love God, there will be no problem in getting them to serve, it will be automatic. But service for service sake…is not service done out of love and it will not glorify God.

Vern

The Vegetable Church

"He is also head of the body, the church"
(Clossians 1:18)

I had actually felt God leading me to write this several months ago, I was reluctant to put it out after I wrote it...but feel as though I should now.

The American church today is like a body that has been paralyzed from the neck down. A body who's head is fine...in fact the church's head is perfectly fine, but its the body that isn't functioning correctly. Its the body that will not follow & take guidance from the head. For the body to be paralyzed there has to be a problem between the Body & the head...our problem is our sin.

There is no life in the church today. I'm not talking about the Benny Hinn crap of slapping you in the head & making you twitch on the floor, But real, true life...life that only comes from the Son...the head of the church. We are told in God's word, and I blogged about it last time, that, "He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life" (1 John 5:12). Our churches do not need another "Great Awakening"...no we are too far passed that in our American churches...no we need a great reviving. We are not asleep in America...we are DEAD! You've been to funerals where people always say about the deceased, "They look good" or "They look so natural...like they're just asleep." Death is not natural...dead is dead & you can't look natural dead. We need to be revived...not a half week preaching with some good music & food, but to be revived...brought back to life or back to the Life, we need to individually search our own hearts before God & make a decision to repent & follow Him, whole heartedly in selfless devotion. God doesn't want our churchiness, He doesn't want our good works or our fancy church buildings...He wants our hearts!

When Jesus went to raise his friend Lazarus from the dead, He said "Remove the stone" from the tomb. But Mary, Lazarus' sister said, "Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days"...But I'm telling you that the church in America has been dead way longer than four days & we stink to high Heaven...we are a stench in the nostrils of God.

It is time that we are revived, raised from the dead! But are we too far gone? No, Jesus also said to Mary the sister of Lazarus, "Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?" We are to believe that God can still revive this church in America & I believe He has already started...He has been putting us in the place we need to be...on our knees. He has showed us that we are not to depend on the economy or anything else other than Him. We can not function without Him. We have tried for too long to run the body without the head, but no matter how much make-up we put on it, how natural we try to make it look...we are still dead & the body can't work that way.

When Jesus raised Lazarus He cried out, "Lazarus come forth!" God is crying out to us the American church to "COME FORTH! Come Forth & Live! Be Revived!" But how much longer will He call?

Vern

Live Trees?

He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.
(1 John 5:12)

When Christmas time rolls around and you want a real tree you go down to the lot to pick one up. When you pull up you see the sign that they have out in front of the lot that reads “Live Trees”, but truth be known…those trees are not alive. They have been cut off from their source of life. Now they still look alive, you take them home & decorate them up real pretty & all, but they are slowly dying, they are in a state of decay. It want be long until you can see the decay. You can leave your decorations on it to try and help it look alive, but…it’s dead.

Much like that tree, unbelievers & Christians often try to live away from their source of nutrients & life. They try to live without Jesus altogether or not spending time with Him daily. They may attend church & often do…they even come in all dressed up in their “Christian” decorations, trying to cover up the decay. But sooner or later, their decay will start to show.

1 John 5:12 tells us that if we have Jesus we have life, it’s when you do not accept that life or you neglect that life that you die. Now a Christian will not lose their salvation, but they will spiritually dry up…with no sign of a spiritual life & become plagued with trouble through bad decisions. They will also become a stumbling block for new & weak believers as well as non-believers. Their life will give no glory to God, but will only hinder the Christian witness.

If you are in this state & are reading this blog…take the time to evaluate your life. Do you feel that God is convicting you of the life you have been living? Do you feel that you need to accept Him, ask Him to come into your life & turn it over to Him? Or do you know that you are saved, but that you have been trying to live without being totally attached to your spiritual food source of a time with God daily? Whatever the case, all you have to do is come to Jesus & tell Him the problem…He wants you to be saved & His will is for you to walk with Him. He’s just waiting on you. He will never give up on you…but He will not make you, so it’s up to you. Is He calling you? Are you listening? Take this new year & become the new person Jesus wants you to be.

Vern