daddy4ms

I am almost finished reading The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson.  It continues to be a great read on the power of prayer and a reinforcement on God's good purpose for us.  The chapters I read on Thursday dealt with the challenging subject of "unanswered prayers."  This can tend to make us doubt God and question His love for us.  Here are some thoughts from Batterson about unanswered prayer. Do you trust that God is for you even when He doesn't give you what you asked for? Do you trust that He has reasons beyond your reason? Do you trust that His plan is better than yours?  Our Heavenly Father is far too wise and loves us far too much to give us everything we ask for...But I've learned a valuable lesson about unanswered prayer: Sometimes God gets in the way to show us the way.  the real miracle (Balaam and Donkey) is a God who loves us enough to get in the way when we're going the wrong way.  God closes doors in order to open bigger and better...

I know I posted a video earlier in the week by Furtick, but this one needed to be shared as well. Let's believe what God says about Himself!

I have been sharing posts over the last several weeks from The Gospel of Yes by Mike Glenn. I recommend the book to you. If you want your life and the church to be known as a place of yes rather than no, this book is for you. Here are some final quotes from the book: "Over the years I've had to let go of a lot of concepts of God that proved too small to contain the God I was trying to follow." "When you find your "yes" and it aligns with the greater "yes" of God to his world, things bigger than you always happen." "No matter the circumstances, no matter how loud the "no" that I was dealing with, Christ would bring a "yes" that would give meaning and hope." "If God tells us "no", then his "yes" has promoted the "no." "So the people of Jesus have to find a way to be the "yes" of Christ to our wounded world." "The church has to become a plac...

Here are my notes from my message today entitled, "Check Yes or No" based on 2 Corinthians 1:18-22. Introduction:   The title for this morning’s message comes from a George Strait song with the same name as well as remembering back to elementary or middle school where notes were passed between boys and girls with a question usually related to do you like me with two boxes at bottom.   Usually with the obvious directions to check one.    This morning we are going to look a similar question the people in Corinth were asking.   They wanted to know if it was yes or no. We will look at three P’s to help us understand and live out this passage from the Word of God. Read 2 Corinthians 1:15-22 Preach vs. 18-19 - The But—How often have you heard or used the following in relationships: I love you, but, I am proud of you, but, I forgive you, but, I was wrong, but, I was going to call you, but, etc. ·        ...

How would you answer this question?  Before you begin lecturing me about ignoring sin, let me say that I am not interested in explaining away sin, but instead wondering if we focus too much on it. I have been on a journey these last few months trying to understand why much of our belief about God or the Christian life focuses on the negative.  Is this what God's Word teaches?  I hope to be able to answer this question soon. One book I am reading right now is called The Gospel of Yes by Mike Glenn.  As I was reading this week, several of his quotes from Chapter 2 spoke to my journey and questions I have been pondering.  Here are some of those quotes: "One generation after another has been trapped in the habit of no."  "But the no of God is also positive. Like the banks of a river, our given limits increase our power by focusing our potential." "The Ten Commandments, those great "Thou shalt nots," are gifts of grace and mercy. God offers th...