It's not what you do...It's who you know

Are you are a person of great deeds...dedicated volunteering, donating of items, generous disaster relief contributions, sharing your home with orphans, solid in your tithing… whatever you might do in the name of "philanthropy" make sure you are doing it with the right backing!

The 4 reasons deeds of philanthropy are usually done are…
..Because you HAVE to (ordered to, by your spouse, parents or the law)
..Because it makes you look good to your family, friends and community
..Because you are a genuinely good person and want to help and do the right thing
..Because of Lordship, it pleases Him for us to do good works and to give him the glory

Which of these are your reason for doing good works? Remember, everything in our lives should be about getting into heaven, and getting into heaven is NOT about what we do…BUT who we know!

Do you know God?

If you do…Listen to Him, and obey Him!

If you don’t…then get to know Him!

Find a trusted spiritual leader, read your Bible, learn!!

This weeks sermon was more on Lordship!

Scriptures to read and study...

Luke 6:39

Luke 46

Luke 47

Luke 19:41-44

Matt 7

8.9 Earthquake, 13 foot Tsunami

An earthquake rocked he northeast coast of Japan less than 2 hours ago. I was watching Fox News when the alert hit the air. At first it was said to be a 7.9, then was upgraded to an 8.8, then to an 8.9. That is in the top 7 worst earthquakes on earth...ever!! At least what modern technology knows of. And then, a tremor hit...7.4! This is bad, very bad.

An area flooded by the tsunami in Iwaki, was Fukushima Prefecture in Japan. Japanese technology is such that choppers were deployed almost immediately after an earthquake struck, giving the world the first ever aerial view of the actual tsunami hitting land. It looked more like the special effects in a movie rather than real life. Fukushima Prefecture is devastated.

Those houses, buildings, and cars...probably had a lot of God's people in them. It's a horrible thought. We will no doubt be hearing about the loss of life in the next hours, days, and it may take months to get a total for lives lost.

This devastation will not be in Japan alone. It is expected to hit many other places in the world. Tsunami warnings are out for many different countries as well as parts of the US.

Please take the time to think about the people that have been and will be touched by this event, and say prayers, lots of prayers. God is truly their only hope.

Obey...regardless of cost!

in the Soviet Union many years ago:

The underground church was singing choruses when masked, communist soldiers stormed in with rifles. Complete silence, as the soldiers stared at the believers with wild eyes. "What are you doing here!" they shouted. "Worshipping your imaginary God?" The congregation cowered in the pews, paniced and scared!
"All those who are faithful to their God, move to the right side of the room!" a soldier yelled with great intimidation. "You will be shot for your faith. Everyone else who wishes to keep their life and go home, move to the left. You must decide to live or die right now. Those who are faithful to this imaginary 'God' will die. Those who deny him can live freely."

Just ten minutes earlier, everyone had been singing hymns equally. Now it was a question of life and death. Some moved to the left, looking sadly and apologetically to those on the right. Those on the right, closed their eyes and sat quietly in prayer.

"You on the left are free to go," yelled a sodier. Those people quickly and quietly filed out, many looking back at those who would soon be dead. When only those on the right remained, the soldiers put down their rifles and removed their masks.

"We too are Christians," they said, "but we wish to worship without hypocrites."

Which side of the church would you be on?
The Right or the Left?

Put God 1st in your life, know where in your faith you stand, and then...

Draw your line in the sand...Obey, regardless the cost!

Stay in the word. Scriptures for this week:

*John 13:1-18

*Matthew 7:21-27, 8:2, 22-36, 25:14

*Romans 10:9

*Ephesians 4:11-12, 5:22, 25

*Hebrews 13:17

Sermon on 3/06/11 by Pastor Kurt Cherry

A special "Thank You" to Pastor Ron Molina
       for guest speaking on 02/27/11

The Trail...

Matthew 7:13-14

¹³“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.

¹⁴ But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Driving west off 395 on Dahl Road, you will see the Church in the Wildwood to your immediate right. If you continue a few miles down that same road, this is what you might see. A beautiful sunset! Do you know what it would take to get to that point on that mountain to watch the sun go down?

I can give you an idea! We have trailered horses to the yellow gate that leads to that mountain top that you see in the center of this picture. Once you have the horses out of the trailer and start up that very primitive road, the going is pretty easy. After all, you are on the horse's back...he's doing all the work!!

After a short ride on this primitive road you need to turn onto a small trail. This trail will get smaller and steeper quickly! But your horse will continue to do the work for a while longer! As the incline gets steeper…it won’t be if, but when, you will need to step off your horse and lead him because the both of you will be all but crawling up that hill!

If you go straight up, there will be a point where your horse will no longer be able to maneuver the terrain... the rocks, thick brush and extreme incline will be just to much. You will need to tie your trusty steed and continue on by yourself. If you have convinced yourself this is worth it, then just keep beating the brush and dragging your tired body up that mountain…I suggest you stop and pray a few times on this little journey, you are going to need the help!

So, you made it to the top…but the sunset is over and darkness has surrounded you. Do you still want to see a sunset from that mountain top? How much do you want it? Because now you are going to have to spend the night on that almost invisibly, very narrow little trail…in the dark, in the cold, with all the wild animal noises coming from places you can’t see. Then you will have to spend the next day…all day…without food if you forgot a lunch…by yourself, because there won’t be a lot of people willing to go through this with you…sitting there, loosing patience, getting bored, ready to give up, and then praying for the strength to stick to you commitment…and continuing to sit there…until that sun comes back around, and finally, you get to see that sunset you were so sure would be the most beautiful thing your eyes would ever witness!

Was it worth it? You bet! I think that is a simplified version of what it must be like to stay on the path that God has set for us. The path is narrow and trying, hard for us to stick to, but if we want to witness the beauty that God has promised us, we will have to stand our ground, stay our course, even if those around us won't make the trip, can't maneuver the terrain...we, you, I, need to stick it out. It will be the most important thing we ever do...the only thing that truly matters!

Laminin...

...held together by the cross! Doesn't matter if you are Christian, atheist or anything in between...the fact is, we are all held together by the cross...literally!! You know it, I know it, and there is even scientific proof!!! Check this out!!!

Laminins are major proteins in the basal lamina (formerly improperly called "basement membrane"), a protein network foundation for most cells and organs. The laminins are an important and biologically active part of the basal lamina, influencing cell differentiation, migration, adhesion as well as phenotype and survival.

OK, I'm not a physicist...no Newton, or Einstein, or Archimedes

So...in layman's terms, that means glue! Our bodies are glued together by millions of little crosses!! Personally, I think that is a "WOW" factor!!

Please, research this for yourself...just google Laminin! This picture is obviously a drawing, but the actual laminin photo looks like a cross! 

Really, isn't it incredible, if you  look through NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and observe the M51 Hubble Cross some 90 million miles out...from there to the very core of our being...we are held together by the cross!! Go ahead, try to argue that!!

 Colossians 1:17(NIV)
He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Pastor Louie Giglio, founder of  The Passion Movement, has a DVD on this exact topic! Check it out, it may be the most enlightening 40 minutes of your life!! It truly puts into perspective just 

how "BIG" our God is...

how easy it really is for God to know the hairs on our head, our every thought,

our every prayer! 



PS...

When you pray, do you sometimes add a PS at the end? More often than not?

Pastor Cherry brought this up during his sermon last week. So, I’ve been thinking, what on earth could I possibly ask God for in a PS. If I have taken the time to say a sincere prayer from my heart, what’s left for the PS? Well, I took inventory and made a list of what I have, so I could figure out what it is that I need!

I have…
Land Í don’t use
Cars I don’t drive
Rooms I don’t sleep in
Furniture I don’t sit on
Food I don’t eat
Money I don’t spend
Clothes I don’t wear

And there’s more...
Horses I don't ride
Lawn mowers I don’t want
Tools I don’t need
Sheds full of stuff
Drawers with forgotten items
Cabinets with crazy gadgets

...and the list goes on and on! What on earth could I possibly need? Nothing! Oh, I’m human, so there are things I "want"…but nothing I “need”.

OK, maybe there is something I need...I "NEED" to spend more time in prayer…thanking the Lord for what he has given me, for what I have...starting with my salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. If I continue to take inventory of all he has done for me, maybe I can do away with my PS.

To repeat a phrase Pastor Cherry used last week…

It’s not about what God can do for us...

but, what God has done for us!

Personal Obedience

In John 21:15-23...We read about the pivotal point in Peter's Faith. Peter had to be broken in order to do God's will. Like many of us, Peter was his own person, he did what he wanted, he had his own plans...but God had other plans for Peter.

Is God's plans for us different than our own...I'll bet! You want to hear God laugh...then go ahead...tell Him your plans! Has God got our attention? What will it take? How many church activities are really benefiting us by; (a) equipping us to love others, (b) draw closer to God, (c) to do the will of God?

Do you want to know what God has planned for you?

Then "Seek to Know"...
Have you read the Bible
Do you read the Bible
Do you believe the Bible...If you do, then you must believe it all...It is the absolute guide to how we should live our lives...no exceptions!!

Matt 7:21-23 NIV 
²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Jesus moves us into ACTION!!  It's very important...not only what we say...but what we do! Does it matter what our neighbors do? No! Only what we do!

We really can't submit to "Lordship" until we fully understand what it is.

1.) Do I accept God's complete Sovereignty?
2.) Am I ready today, to give account to God of the management of His possessions?
3.) Am I doing all I can that I know is right?
4.) Have I personally settled this Lordship issue?

Do you have a repentant heart? Then do it...repent...then you can grow and mature in your Faith!

It's not always about what God can do for us...but, what God has done for us!!

Sermon today by Pastor Cherry......post by KB

Be Afraid...Be Very Afraid!

All men should fear God!

Luke Vs-4,5 says; ⁴ “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. ⁵ But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.(NIV)

How much time do we spend;

in Prayer...

reading our Bible...

sharing our Faith?

how about watching TV?

Rumor has it, the average person spends 5 hours a day watching TV! Wow, 5 hours...really?!  Just think of the person we could be if we spent 5 hours a day in the word!

(Pastor Cherry delivers the message on Sunday mornings...I have taken it upon myself to try and put his sermon into a blog story and share it with all of you. So please...don't hold Pastor Cherry accountable if I miss the point!)

The sermon title today... "Thoughts on Luke"  (Luke 12)

Prioritize...get our ducks in a row...know what's important in life so we are ready for "the after-life"!

Vs-15, He says; "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions".

Vs-34, He says; "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also".

Check our list, how does it read? Anything like this...

healthy bank account

nice house

new car

stocked pantry

full closet

watch "desperate house wives" on TV

Are those our priorities?

Shouldn't our list look more like this...

God first

prayer time

Bible reading

sharing the good news 

fellowship

giving

I know more than anyone how hard it is to prioritize...get my list right. It is a constant struggle. Living in the USA and being abundantly blessed doesn't help either.  All the niceties we have...who wants to give it all up?! I don't know that we have to give it all up, but I do believe that we can't put our material things ahead of our Faith. We need to know what's first in our lives, earthly possessions...or God. He knows what our priorities are, all of them and in the exact order, so don't even try to fake it! Know that all the material things in life won't last..but, our souls...are forever!!

Know the road you are on, know where you've been, know where you are going! Stay between the lines...get your list right!

Get your ducks lined up...be ready when God comes...don't be caught off guard!  Hell is a real place...very real! Do you want to spend your time there?!

Read Luke 12...study it, understand it. If you have questions, seek the wisdom of a trusted teacher to study and pray with.

Know just how Mighty God is!!

What is Lordship...part 2

Today...Pastor Cherry continues...what is Lordship...

Lordship... is accepting responsibility and accountability

Lordship... is submitting to the sovereignty of God
Lordship... is putting God 1st in our lives
Lordship... is accepting that which He has given

Matthew 25:14-30

Verse 14...God has entrusted Blessings to us

Verse 15...God's gifts are not equally given

Verse 16-18...People respond differently to what God has given them

Verse 19...All of us will be accountable for what we did with what God gave us

Verse 20-30...All of us will be rewarded for how we develop God's Blessings

Someday, we will give an account to God for what we have done with what he gave us. It will be our attitude about the gifts and blessings of God that will determine whether we use them or not. 

...God never wants back what he has given us...in the same amount.

Take inventory of your gifts...embrace them, develop them,
put them to use...don't bury them!

Matt 25:21(NIV)..."Well done, good and faithful servant!"...

Will God say that to me?  Am I trying to be good and faithful?

Am I bringing my gifts to fruition?...Are you?

We will enjoy our Christian walk more when we understand our spiritual gifts!

Not just gifts, but abilities!

I Peter 4  -  I Cor 12  - Ephesians 4  -  Romans 12   

Through Her Eyes

Her Eyes

What does she see, what will she do,
Is she like me or more like you?

As she grows up and becomes a young lady
Through her eyes, she’ll see all the beauty, maybe
Of a life filled with God and her showers of prayers
Her life has been stacked with positive layers
Her smile’s so bright, her eyes filled with compassion
She’s willing to help, she’s there for the asking.
So many great examples that her loved ones have set
I’m sure she’ll do well, on that I would bet

With love from your family, friends and the rest,
On This 16^th Birthday we wish you the best!!

Pastor Cherry's daughter celebrated her 16th Birthday this week! Let's keep her in our thoughts and prayers and wish her a blessed year!