Exciting news!!!

Beloved friends…


I have been invited to join an amazing Mission Trip to South Africa, and after spending time in prayer over it, I believe I am being called to go. Serving overseas has been a dream of mine for many years, and this is finally the time that I can fulfill that dream for the first time of what I hope will be many, many journeys to share the love of Christ in my life with others all over the world.

I write to you, humbly seeking your support for the trip itself. I have listed below exactly what I will be doing and where I will be, along with the cost of the trip. The overseeing organization is World Hope Ministries International, and the group is filled with powerful Christian men.

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Matthew 28:19-20, NIV

This trip includes the following:

• Leave Houston Intercontinental on Friday, March 1st at 11am and arrive South Africa Saturday evening, March 2nd; Return to Houston Intercontinental on Sunday morning 9am.

• Cost is $1500 flight + 500 housing/food in country +$250 materials = $2250 total per person - Money cannot be the issue – If God calls you He will provide the friends, family and church who will join you on this mission trip if they believe in it

• The goal of the trip is hundreds of lives changed and at least one new church plant

• We will be doing one-on-one evangelism in several SA prisons. God has already led Pastor Willy to enter into 215 prisons, see 33,000 young men saved and transformed and several dozen new church plants. So we are not the first but we will continue joining God in His extraordinary work in transforming prisoners in SA.

• We will give our testimony before crowds of hundreds of prisoners, we will preach and lead worship before hundreds of prisoners, and we will disciple and encourage the saved in the prisons

• We will also share the gospel and our testimonies in Muslim schools all around his church

• We will share the gospel in Somalian squatter camps, baptize new believers and start churches in these squatter camps

I would ask that you gather with your family, and pray over whether you feel led to aid me in this journey. If you come to the decision to do so, please know that it is a matter between you and God. You can send your donations for my trip to World Hope Ministries International, PO Box 11808, Spring, Texas 77391-1808, and place a letter inside describing the purpose of the donation. Do not place my name in the memo line, as that would not be a tax deductible donation. The letter or note placed inside with the donation will set it aside for my trip and service to the prisoners in South Africa.

If you are not led to donate monetarily, please be certain to keep the trip in your prayers before, during, and after the dates above.

And, as always, I pray grace and peace over you and yours!

The 3rd of 7... part 2...

Envy is so evil a thing.  And it is so simple a thing, as well, when you think about it... you just say something along the lines of, "I wish I had," then throw in a something you wish you had, and if your motivations and thought process are not clear and pure, away from thinking about something you wish for that someone else already has, then you are envious.  Worse, though, is that you'll be envious and get nowhere.

"You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions."

James 4:2-3, ESV

Granted, I don't personally know anyone who murders over things they don't have... but I am pretty certain that it happens, thanks to our ever-uplifting newscasts full of this kind of information.  Also, I don't know anyone who fights physically over things they see and want, but cannot get... but I think that is where the murder comes from, once it escalates enough.  Just for funsies, though, I would ask that you consdier that with this issue, just like all others, the heart of the matter is a matter of the heart.  If your motivations are wrong, then you are envious and jealous and covetous.

To finish out the verse, please know that I know TONS of people who don't have because they don't ask (in prayer).  And I know TONS of people who ask, but don't get, because they ask wrongly (not in prayer).  How do I recognize and know these people like I do?  Simple: I'm one of them.  I ask for things all the time, but I'm busy asking people for them.  I fail to realize that I am seeing what others have been blessed with, and that I am becoming covetous, and that I need to step back and humble myself in prayer.

You see, if you seek the will of the Father in your life, in all circumstances, and you push to know Him more than anything else, then He will bless you.  It may not be in the way you would choose, but let me tell you a secret... you and I weren't meant to run the universe.  God does that, and He needs no help from us. 

Free yourself from envy tonight, and do so honestly in prayer.  Ask the Father to step in and give you peace about whatever it is you seek, because your seeking is being done wrongly if it done without Him involved.  Know also that He might not answer in the way you wish.  There are bigger things going on than we can ever know, and it is high time we accepted that God knows what he's doing.

I was gonna make a joke about being "envious" of all of you for being able to pray it away tonight, and "envious" of people who don't wrestle with envy... but that's just not funny.  Go be unenvious tonight, and give thanks for wehat you have. 

God bless you all!!!

The 3rd of 7... part 1...

We've been through the two huge ones, and now we're moving into a more easily masked one.  Please know, though, that just because it's easily masked does NOT mean that it is any less pervasive in our culture.  It is just as bad, and just as rampant, but this one gets to be covered with fanciful buzz words like "ambition" and "drive."  Of course, I'm speaking of envy.

"For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice."

James 3:16, ESV

In one of the discussions about lust, I mentioned that it relates to envy in a huge way, because to lust after something is to chase it with excessive (unnecessarily excessive, I might add) means.  It is something you don't need, and something you really want... something that stirs a jealous envy in you until it's yours.  It happens with people in affairs, it happens with people who steal from others, it happens with people who lie to achieve greater success than they should have.  After reading this, please look up to the verse above again, and see if it is starting to sound a bit familiar.

As for the cultural buzz words, notice that I did mention ambition as being one of them.  Please do not misunderstand me, though, because ambition is necessary.  We all should want to achieve something great for our God, for our families, and for ourselves.  However, the difference in the verse is that when there is "selfish ambition," things begin to change.  This kind of ambition is no longer used to better the Kingdom or a family... it is only used to better a single person, one who is thinking only of a single person.  It absolutely is used in deceitful means for selfish gain, and nothing matters other than the achieving of that one goal.

I'm reminded of a popular cooking show a few years back where one contestant claimed to have been a Marine with service time in Iraq.  It was discovered midway through that not only was there no officially recorded time in Iraq, this man was not even a member of the armed forces.  The sympathy he had gained on TV (fighting for votes to stay on the show, of course) was called out into the light quickly by the network, the show, and the contestants still on the show, and that man probably still has not lived this down.  His ambitions were entirely selfish, and he took the position of a true American hero (referring to any soldier in our military), and attempted to use that for his own means.  Yeah, folks, I'd call that pretty vile.

But it's not just that one guy, is it?  I can remember a few others who've managed to make the news, and they ruined the lives of many, many people in the process, thanks to their lies and deceit.  This also ties to another sin that we'll get to rather quickly, which is greed, but it always begins with envy.  One person sees a thing or lifestyle or salary or position that someone else has, and they want it so badly that they cannot want anything else... they also cannot chase their one dream with proper avenues and check points of advancement, because the want has grown bigger than the requirements to succeed.  Envy, Christian siblings, does this to people.

To close, though, it isn't just about the ones who make national headlines for enormous ponzi schemes.  It is a problem right in our own hearts and homes, too, every time we start to look at someone else's life or job or money or car, and all of a sudden they begin to compare their won to the other person, and grow jealous of what they do not have.  However, as I told my children just yesterday, we need to look at the blessings God grants us, and count how full our own bucket is.  We can only control us, and we are to be grateful and mindful stewards of the blessings bestowed onto us by our Father... not envious and thankless drones who serve only ourselves.

God bless you all!!!

The 2nd of 7... part 5...

So far, this new study has been painful for me.  It has challenged me in greater ways than I thought possible, and this is only the second one to cover out of seven portions!  Of course, the first two I hit have been, currently are, and may always be, the hardest parts of this group for me, so I kinda set myself up for a good kick in my complacency. 

Right now, though, I would like to cover the opposite of the sin of lust by using a very familiar passage from Romans, and offer encouragement to myself and to all from these powerful words of the Apostle Paul (no, I did not intend for that to rhyme).

"Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship.  Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God."

Romans 12:1-2, HCSB

First, let's look to the presentation aspect.  A company I know has the slogan, "Eat right, don't smoke, and exercise daily... we can wait."  This company is in my industry, and so there is humor in the idea of them advertising that people should live longer (I'm a licensed funeral director and embalmer, in case you didn't know that already).  Presentation of yourself as a living sacrifice is similar to this, in that if we just give in to the "luxuria" (Latin for lust) desires of the flesh, we would envelop ourselves in foods and habits that are not good for us.  Taking care of your body, both inside and out, is a form of worship, after all, because the body is the Temple, and Christ resides in you and me and every other Christian.  Therefore, keep the "house" clean, as it were, and sacrifice what you must in order to do so.  For me, that has been soda and junk food (both of which I love), and I have added in some physical exercise with my church softball team, as well as coaching a soccer team for my son.  I want my presentation to be good, both inside and out.

Second, please don't stress over the word "holy" as it is listed here.  I read a great book once that explained that we, as Christians, with Christ in us, are holy.  He makes us so.  Therefore, it is not a daunting and heavily burdening concept to be holy and present yourself as holy.  Now, if you refuse to care for yourself and you decide to turn away from the holiness born into you through Christ, then I can see it being difficult... but you know, I was so sore after my first softball practice, which was followed by soccer practice, and it was hard to make the change from all sod and juice to just about nothing but water.  Change is not always easy, but it is sometimes necessary.  And besides, when you think of how hard it is to change something, perhaps you should think of what was endured on your behalf some 2,000 years ago, hmm?  I'm pretty certain that wasn't an easy thing to go through, and I have been thinking on it since I began this study.

Third, and this is where we'll get to the sexual stuff, conforming to this age means that sexual impurity and adultery and the like are all things that are either accepted or excused, and that is just not okay.  I can name only one couple out of literally thousands of people I have met that remained virgins until marriage, and I guarantee you, they don't have arguments about sexual impurity.  A favorite sitcom of mine has a moment where one promiscuous character mentions that he has a list of people he has slept with, and another character responds, "so do I... it's called my marriage license."  I wish I had been that strong.  I wish I had been able to do that.  Looking back, all I remember is wanting so badly to do adult things, and wanting to satisfy the desire of the flesh, and I didn't stop to think about what it may mean for my future.  

I'll speak to the married couples first on that: it means that I have memories of things I have done, and they pop up every now and again.  Those memories are no longer wanted, but for some reason, they surface from time to time.  I change the topic in my mind quickly, and I move on from them, but I wish I didn't have them.

Now, to the unmarried folks: the memories that will be created through intimacy need to be as pure as the intimacy itself, and the only way I learned that was through the regret of not being able to achieve it.  The only way this can be done, I have to assume, is through a single partner... your spouse!  Virginity is a beautiful thing, and something to be cherished and prized above all things in life (except for the salvation you have through Christ), so hold on to your purity until you are married to your spouse, and share that amazing gift with them, and them only.  Again, I wish I had.

Fourth, to the renewing of the mind, this only happens when you are in God's Word.  I'll proclaim it from the mountaintops, and anyone on Earth is welcome to try and debate it, but the only way to remain refreshed mentally, and hang on to the important things of life and truth, is to remain in God's Word daily!  Quiet times focus the mind, and they focus the heart, and that is where you can hear the Lord speak.  It may not always be audible, and sometimes it might just be a feeling, but those moments drive home the power that flows from the Resurrection, and you really begin to have the ability to discern what you should and should not do. 

This, of course, leads us to the will of God for you and your life.  Chastity, which I haven't mentioned since the top, has to do with so many things, and most of what we think of is sexual purity or virginity.  I want to expand that, though, to include remaining inside the will of God for my life, as opposed to what the world and the enemy would want me to do with my life.  Being pure for your spouse in the future is important... remaining pure and seeking only God's will for your life is more important.  Imagine all the things you've done that were outside that calling, and think about the hardships that came.  God, in His grace and mercy, has (in my life, for certain) used those errors to teach lessons that clearly needed to be learned, but what if you just learned them through quiet time and prayer and remaining in the Father's will and care?  What if you just read the Bible, did what it said, knowing that it is God's perfect Word, inspired by the Holy Spirit directly from the Father through those whom He chose to impart it to, and prayed and centered yourself to hear Him in all things?  What if I had done that since childhood? 
Of course, we cannot, because we are sinners, and we are all broken and imperfect in some way.  But just for now, please think on your own chastity.  As long as we are on this earth, we always have the opportunity to turn from the world, face the Father and accept the Son, and live by the power of the Spirit.  His mercies are new each day, and we have the chance to make that difference in ourselves... and set the example for future generations to come!

God bless you all!!!

The 2nd of 7... part 4...

Not only have I thought of a verse for the preceding portion, but I have also decided to use that verse today to expand upon that portion.  It is so powerful, and truly is one of the things that God put into place to help keep us in line with Him... fellowship.

"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

Proverbs 27:17, ESV

I mentioned that my dear friend and I would have some accountability to each other, and that we would ask each other the tough questions about how our lives are going with respect to this particular sin.  Well, folks, the thing that I forgot to point out is that we both have to be honest in order for this to work.  I mean, I can already count three times today that I have had to check myself, center in prayer, and make note of a mental response I should NOT have had... and this has to be shared openly. 

Accountability is such a tough and scary word, but it really isn't something you can avoid, if you truly wish to grow.  The thing that makes it scary for me is something I wrote about once in reference to the dark times in life, when we wander through the valley of the shadow of death (ref. Psalm 23:4).  In the darkest of darkness possible, there would be nothing visible, and the reaction would be to become silent.  In that place, terrifying as it would be, there is no way that our positive self talk and reassuring excuses would hold up.  Even we wouldn't be able to believe it, because in the absence of any light, we can't paint it for anything other than what it is.  Hurts, right?

The truth is the same way, in that it is completely immovable.  Think of it this way: two plus two equals four, and that is a fact.  It is the truth.  Whether you like it or not, the equation balances only one way, and that is to have it accurate, and that is to answer truthfully.  You can be as upset with one of the twos as you wish, but that does not change their value, does it?  And if their value is unchanged, then the answer is unchanged, and that is where I come to the place of understanding that the truth is immovable.  The truth doesn't have any respect for persons, and it is not swayed by powerful and sweeping speeches.  People's perception of it can be colored with the tint of such things, but the truth never changes... ever.

This is why it is so frightening to us all, and why we wish so desperately to be able to change it and shade it with rationalizations and justifications and excuse, excuses, excuses... it's frightening, because we can't change it.  To add insult to injury, our entire culture has been built on the premise that you can change and improve ANYTHING you like, and when we Americans are told that we can't do "X," whatever it may be, we tend to go to extremes to prove otherwise.  However, this is one area that we will not ever succeed, and we all know that to be an immovable and irrefutable truth (yep, I said irrefutable, and I meant it).

It's a lot like the truth that Jesus is the Son of God, and our salvation is through His perfect Atonement on the cross at Calvary.  You didn't earn your place in Heaven, and there is no chance in the eternity of time that you ever could.  You're not good enough top do it, and never will be... neither am I... and neither is any other person ever born, from Creation to the Second Coming.  We are saved by grace, through faith, and that is an absolute fact.  It just is.

And this, dear Christian siblings, is why we fear accountability.  We cannot change it, and we have to be open and truly honest and vulnerable for it to exist and for God to use it to work on us.  Otherwise, we remain prideful, and we lust after the control of our own destiny, and we are unwilling to share this portion of our life (which is already fully known, by the way) with the One who created us.  That is awful... and I am guilty... but I'm trying to change.

My prayer today is that we would all find the courage to admit to God what He already knows.  Then, we need to finally have the courage to admit it to ourselves.  Finally, we need a partner in this race, a relay person that can carry the baton when we need that assistance, and we need to admit to them, whomever they may be, whatever it is that is burdening us.  We just must, for the truth exists, no matter how hard we try to fight it, and it is what it is.

God bless you all!!!

The 2nd of 7... part 3...

I have no scripture verse for this thought, but I must share it with you.  Today I called a dear friend, one in whom I have confided many things, and I told him of this new study in the seven deadly sins.  I told him that I was currently working in the sin of lust, and that I was finding difficulty in writing about it. 

The truth is that I am excessively hyper-sensitive about this particular one, and nothing seems to allow me to move past it.  However, today I believe that I have found an answer, of sorts.  My friend and I have agreed to be accountable to each other with respect to this particular sin, and we have agreed to a one call every three days rule, which will contain what a great pastor I know calls "accountability questions."

We're going to challenge each other with whether or not we've been guarded in the things we've seen, whether by chance or by design.  We'll discuss the prayer life we have as related to this topic, and encourage each other to grow and move closer to the Father, and farther from lustful thinking.  We're going to chase after Biblical manhood, honoring God, our wives, our children, and ourselves by making positive choices, and holding each other accountable to continue in that fashion.

As is normal for me, I won't name my friend here... but I thank God for him, and he knows it.  I would encourage you to find someone with whom you can build the same type of friendship, and the same type of trust and loyalty.  It is vital to our walk with Christ to do this, so that we can grow and learn and become a greater force for the Kingdom.

Had to tell you...

God bless you all!!!

The 2nd of 7... part 2...

Have you ever heard it said that when you are becoming effective, the enemy will get right in your way and try to stop you?  I find it ironic that I have been so busy that I have spent almost five full days away from my studies, and this happened right as I came to the climax of pride, and stepped into lust.  They are both such powerful forces in my life, and in our culture, and I am not surprised that things would start to get in my way as I tackle these.  But no more!

"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh."

Galatians 5:16, ESV

I mentioned the above thought, because if you tie the issues and problems and temptations that can come up in the world to this verse, you see that they are all issues of the flesh.  And if we are walking by the Spirit, we cannot satisfy the desires of the flesh, because we will be ignoring them for a better and higher purpose entirely! 

Also, and this one will be a tough one to swallow for some, the gratification of lustful desires is NOT limited only to the physical and sexual pleasures that can be experienced by a human being.  When you think about it, "lusting" after a person boils down to really, really, really wanting to have physical contact, right?  So what would you call the things that you chase, whether material or physical or whatever else, that have nothing to do with sex?  If you want them badly enough, I'm fairly certain you could call it lusting after: a new TV, a better car, a nicer house, a higher salary, a better job, a different school, and nicer shirt, a pair of shoes, a baseball card, an autograph.  I mean, if you become obsessive about anything, really, isn't that lusting after something?  I would argue that it is, and I have many friends and a couple of mentors who would agree, for sure.

The point in this, for all of us, is that we should find the contentment needed to exist inside God's will for us right here, right now.  Perhaps we are supposed to be happy with what we currently have before we'll get a blessing of increase... and perhaps we'll just remain with what we currently have, and should be content with this level of blessing.  But really, given that we will all see Jesus face to face one day, and we are saved from hell and damnation in our sins, isn't that enough?  Shouldn't it be enough to keep us from lusting after anything else ever?  You would think so, and so would I, but I saw a vehicle this morning that I really, really want, and the thought came over me just as it does many people.

It is in this way that lust (already tied clearly to pride) also joins with envy.  We'll get to envy soon enough, and it will have a lot for me to discuss and admit to, I'm certain.  For now, though, I believe it needed to be shared that lust doesn't exclusively refer to people who have excessive appetites for physical contact with another person.  Everyone lusts after something, even if it is an intangible idea or ideal that they cannot seem to attain... but we should be chasing a deeper and deeper relationship with the Father and the Savior.

God bless you all!!!

The 2nd of 7... part 1...

So I figured I'd jump into an easier one than this next, but something pulled me right to this.  Along with pride, this will be extremely difficult to type, and just as difficult, I'm sure, to read and focus on for all.  That is partly due to the fact that this one ties so strongly to pride, to arrogance, to self-centeredness... this, blessed friends, is lust.  And we're gonna come out swingin...

"But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

Matthew 5:28, ESV

These words of Christ radiate through all of mankind today, just as they did when they were first spoken aloud.  Imagine it for a second: a world where men do not think sexually-inspired thoughts about women who are not their wives.  Also, a world where women don't think inappropriate thoughts about men who are not their husbands.  I know, right?  Impossible.  Our entire culture in America is based upon the principles of selling sexuality and sensuality, and there is almost no escape from it.  Almost.

As a married man, I have wrestled with this.  It is pointed out in Scripture that we all have a cross to bear, and that we should take it up daily to follow Jesus in a life of submission to the Father.  Every male on the planet carries lust as a part of their individual cross, and I am certainly no exception.  It is easily, along with pride, one of the most pervasive ills in our growing-ever-sicker society.

Speaking of pride, they tie together simply.  Wanting something more than what you have been blessed with, and solely for physical and pleasure-related purposes, is as selfish as it gets.  The assumption is that you won't get caught, and therefore arrogance has entered the scene.  With that attitude present, the daring of oneself to go just a bit farther this time gets more and more tempting, and the rush and excitement when you think you've gotten away with it grows just the same.  This is what it is to think only of ME.  And I'm here to tell you, ladies and gentlemen who know me and those who don't, it is a constant wrestling match for me, just as it is for every man alive.  Pride is huge... lust is huge with it.

So let's look at Jesus' words in this passage, because the "heart of the matter is a matter of the heart," as a dear friend reminds me at times when looking to the Gospel of Matthew.  To even THINK it, regardless of action, regardless of intention, regardless of whether or not you were "actually going to go through with it," is the same as having done it.  It's the SAME AS HAVING DONE IT!  That comes from the Authority on all things in the universe and beyond, the Word, the Son of God, so I cannot dispute it, and neither can anyone else.  The sad part here is that we're all guilty, 100%, of at least one single infraction.  The sadder part is that we excuse it and say things like, "I was born this way," or, "I'm just a man, and I can't help it."  The saddest part, though, is that we accept those excuses, roll forward without attempting a change, and have no problem with that.

Don't worry, though, because as I mentioned above, it "almost" seems like there is no escape.  So what is the route to flee, you ask?  Prayer.  Prayer to the Father in the moment, the precise moment, that a thought comes along.  That prayer and re-centering of your focus and your heart will cause the thought to dissipate.  That prayer will bring back into line your true priorities.  And, if you pray fast enough as a response enough times, it will become a habitual response.  That is the escape... but it is an act of will, and we must condition ourselves to do so.  Otherwise, we slumber in the sin, allowing it to grow and take root, and we abdicate our place as leaders to the enemy who is in our minds.

I'm so far beyond guilty, and this portion will be an exercise for me of magnificent proportions.  But I know that God will carry me through in His power, not mine, and that is what will help me to grow.

God bless you all!!!

Closing thoughts on pride...

Briefly, I would like to make one final assertion about pride.  It is something that dawned upon me yesterday, and something that I believe bears repeating. 

It would be better to recognize your pride and kneel to the Father, requesting His help to contain it, than it would be to assume you're able to carry the weight of it with no assistance, only to be brought low by Him when your arrogance needs to be broken.

~ 4th Wall Ministries

If that means you acknowledge it on your own maturely, then great.  If it means that friends and family point it out to you until you cannot avoid it, then great.  But if you choose to go on in your pride, the Father will bring you into a severe dose of reality, and you will look back and ask yourself, "Why did I think I could {insert transgression/prideful act/prideful speech} in the first place?  I know better!" 

Trust me... I know far too well, from far too many experiences, in far too many areas of my life. 

And, as said before, don't try to be humble.  Just be humble.  Kneel in attitude to God's will for you in every moment, and you will be more humble... and you will be more at peace.

God bless you all!!!