Some Destinations

Some destinations are just worth the fight!

We can often lose the focus when hardship is in

our view, when we only see the valley or the long

road ahead; God always has a plan and in the end

it's beautiful beyond compare.

You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.
                                                                                  Genesis 50:20

Whatever we face, no matter the trials, God will turn it around

for His glory and we can rest on that perfect plan. His love writes our story each and every day.

~You Prepare A Table~

When all is said and done, God is our strength and our hope in times of trouble. He is ever faithful in preparing a time of peace during our worst struggles, our worst trials in life.

Grave Of Regrets

And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

                                                         James 4:6

Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

                                                                                   Proverbs 11:2

Do Not Worry

Matthew 6:25-34

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 

 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 

 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

John 12:24

Half Way Alive

A Christian Needs To Go Much Further Than

Church On Sundays

Leaving Their Habits And Preferences At Home

They Need To Step Into The Apostles Devoted Call

To Reach The Lost

To Live The Gospel 24/7

To Bring The Peace That Passes All Understanding

It Transforms The Heart

The Life

The Actions Of The Soul

That Hears The Salvation Message

                                         By Ernie Kasper

Your Cares, His Strength

     I remember as a teenager how burdened I felt, how depressed I often was, I felt the world was too big and I was nothing in all of it. I was always the one last picked in every game at school, chuckled at when I ran, walked, talked, laughed etc. I was the misfit who always felt unfit for acceptance. Those days were trying, difficult and extremely lonely days of hurt and pain; often I was praying and asking God for the help and strength to go through another day of bullying, rejection and so forth. One night as I was praying I remember seeing this verse and it really hit home for me, I simply need to cast my anxiety and my worries to Him because He CARES for me. That was a powerful moment, it didn't say that all heartache and rejection would simply fade away. What was important; what was the paramount thing to understand was this: God Cares For You... 

The World tells you if you want God to listen to you, then you need to earn it!

Well here is the beauty in a relationship with God who dearly loves us and like a father only wishes to give good things; His grace is sufficient and His love for us is relentlessly perfect. God sent His son into the world to set us free from the debt we owed, the price we could not pay, our tresspasses, our sins. When Jesus died on that cross He died for you and me and when He resurrected He established a right standing with God. You were worth that cost, that profound sacrifice, that amazing grace that was undeserved and yet it was freely given. So remember this, you are loved and God desires us to trust in Him; no matter the storm, the trials, the persecution. It's not a road intended for the blessings of earthly things but rather the joy in God's purpose, to reach the lost with the saviour! God takes care of His children and He will take care of you...

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.

                                                                                        Proverbs 3:5

Laughter Within, Hatred Without

     One thing I know for sure I'm really good with, is laughter! I know that way back when I was a teenager you would almost never find me smiling or laughing. There was a time when I was so sad and heartbroken, I was bullied all the time for my looks and my cloths etc. Strange how things change, when we survive something so unbelievably painful and suddenly we either see things in a whole new light or we fade away in anger. I chose to fly above the hatred, the contempt and learn to love and pray for those who treated me so horribly unkind. Amazingly I found a lot of love for those who I first couldn't imagine ever loving. My laughter is deeper than ever, my freedom is lighter than before and my burdens are quickly cast aside. The bible speaks of loving your enemies and in doing so you become a much more profound person of grace, wisdom and mercy. Remember, love covers a multitude of sin... ;)

My Treasure

     We so often get sucked into the rat race, the desire for wealth and prosperity. It either is coming from the media telling you to buy this car and you'll feel important to even some churches speaking about "The Prosperity" message. The problem is that Jesus, who was the most influential person in history, didn't have all the wealth in the world, though He could have had it. His goal was to save the world not His wallet. We are called to reach the lost and to speak to the hurting and to reach out to those seeking. Now the flip side is to understand that we deal with money in our everyday lives and Jesus knew this and in fact he spoke about money 11 out of 39 parables, so it was and is important. It's all about the focus, what is the real goal, is it to give God the glory or ourselves. Do we hide behind the "I'm doing this for God" card or are we actually doing it for God and not ourselves.
     Do we know who is our provider and do we lay everything at His feet, do we trust in Him when our wealth is great and when our wealth is scarce. Jesus walked in total reliance on God's provision but it was done in wisdom, prayer and in trust. Let's remember who really is the composer of our lives and for whom we really play the song, the symphony of praise. Lay everything at God's feet and take each day as it comes and pray in all things. God always has a better plan than what we could ever imagine.

Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

                                                Philippians 4:6

In His Righteousness

We often think that somehow God's desire is to be the super genie in our lives, that somehow the unfruitful things we do will never be trimmed from our walk in Christ but the bible says the following

John 15:2
2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.

What God does with our lives is maximize the potential for bearing fruit for His kingdom and He is the farmer over the fields of harvest. The amazing thing is in God's righteousness, His love and yet firm hand of truth. A farmer goes through his field and he looks at his vineyard and his farmland and he prunes what must be removed for the sake of the harvest and for the joy of our lives in Christ Jesus. 

Psalm 1:1-3 
1 Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers.
2 But they delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night. 3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.

The righteous are blessed continually, yes there is hardship, changing of season, drought, cold, heat waves etc. but they are planted by streams of living water and their fruit is in every season and that is worth rejoicing over! Remember that though you may be going through hardship, there is pruning and things are changing around you, don't forget God has a plan that is far greater than what you can see and He knows just how to make you bloom and produce fruit that will bring Him glory and you victory in Christ Jesus :)

Under A Thousand Tears

   Sometimes we bear the weight of our deepest fears in silence. We put on a brave face and all the while we cry on the inside, we break into pieces, thinking, pondering, wondering if anyone knows our pain and do they really care. The bible says this in Psalms

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
                              Psalm 34:17-19
     The comfort we receive is in this very thing, that God is ever attentive, He is ever prepared to easily overcome anything we are enduring. He promises that He will deliver us out of all our afflictions. The great joy we receive is in knowing that God stands by His word, even to the cross! His mercy is ever enduring, ever compassionate and full of love and joy. We have hope because God does exactly as He promises and has never failed, His record is 100 percent perfect and He knows exactly everything there is to know about you and how to make all things new in His perfect grace. So take hope in this very thing, you are loved and that love that is so profound that it causes us to soar above the impossible, to do the very things we thought would leave us in the dust of weakness. God delivers! God Heals! God Restores! God Renews!

 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
                               Isaiah 40:31

Take The Step

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

2 Timothy 1:7

New Ever Morning

The faithful love of the Lord never ends

    His mercies never cease

23 

Great is his faithfulness

    his mercies begin afresh each morning

                        Lamentations 3:22-23

                         Artwork By Ernie Kasper

Never Give Up

Never give up on doing good, keep pressing forward and hold onto God's promises!

Time given, Time taken

     I was heading out to home depot to get some materials when I saw a neighbor walking with her kids, as I drove by I could see a wince of sorrow in her eyes, a moment of emptiness behind the smile. I stopped the van and called her to me. As she walked back to the van I could clearly see she was broken inside. I asked her if she was okay and her eyes looked away as she began to tell her sad situation. You see she recently divorced and I knew her husband well, sadly everything fell apart and of course things got messy. 
     I remember speaking to the husband telling him that he needed to draw close to God and start removing the stress in his life with his work and start eating healthy. He looked fine but I felt I needed to say that, well during the ex-wife's conversation with me it obviously didn't happen. He had a sudden heart attack and was rushed to the hospital for a triple or quadruple bypass. His arteries where all clogged. I quickly stepped out of the van and ran around to hug the ex-wife and give her comfort. It was the first time it felt like I was holding a bunch of broken pieces melting like wax under a hot sun. Her kids came running up and she quickly put on a brave face and smiled and said "Well, have a great day Ernie, I'll talk to you soon." 
     Time passes quickly, sometimes we assume that tomorrow is a guarantee or at the very best our health will somehow be the same but we really never know and the time we have now is precious. Some people spend all their precious time trying to acquire things instead of embracing the people who so desperately want their love, friendship and kindness.