Poker(Remixed And Reposted?)

Most people know every year I volunteer at the Christian music festival Celebrate Freedom in Atlanta, this year it was held on Labor Day weekend. I was so excited to get away and hear some live music and hopefully to hear from God. I had planned and had looked forward to that weekend all summer.

As you would expect, things didn’t go quite as I had planned. It turned out to be quite a busy weekend in Atlanta with two major football games (yuck) and Dragoncon taking place. The traffic was ridiculously bad and I missed my exit for the festival. By the time I realized that I had driven too far and turned around, I had missed my volunteer time.

To be honest, I was so disappointed in myself that I felt like just turning around and coming home Then I spoke to the volunteer coordinator and she encouraged me to enjoy the concerts and other activities. So I took her advice and had the chance to see one my favorite Christian groups in concert, Family Force 5. Their show was amazing and full of energy.

Afterwards I was so AMPED and hyped up that I decided to explore the fairgrounds and let the big kid in me out. Trust me there was plenty of mischief for a kid like me to get into. Since last year’s concert the fairgrounds had added a cable left ride that would take you from one side of the fairgrounds to the other.

As always, being the daredevil I am and since I enjoy heights; I decided to take a trip across the fairgrounds to get some food and water. Then something crazy happened. Within minutes of the journey up and over– a sense of paranoia came over me, I was PARALYZED with fear, crazy “what ifs” popped into my head.

What if I had a seizure above the crowds and fell to my death. What if my shoes fell off and hit some poor bystander on the head. What if the winds picked up and my bucket began to sway. What if I dropped my camera and hit someone. I remember telling God I’m not going to die today.

It took a little girl in a bucket going the opposite way to stick her tongue out at me and make a silly face to calm my nerves. I began to be the cool, calm and collective Martin who enjoys the views from above. I was able to sit back and enjoy the smell of all the wonderful and unhealthy fairground food. I was able to laugh (to myself) at the other passengers who were having panic attacks themselves.

I began talking to God about my fears and my doubts. Not just those in the moment. Immediately I remembered all of the struggles that God has brought me through over my life. By the time my ride was over I had regained my confidence and I had a new perspective. Even with tens of thousands of festivalgoers I was able to hear God’s still small voice loud and clear. I was able to give thanks and praise to God for the BEAUTIFUL DAY and for the beautiful landscape.

After a quick trip downtown for dinner at my favorite place to eat in Atlanta, The Varsity, I headed back towards the festival. I admit that that it was CRAZY for me to drive back downtown with all the traffic. But then again, I do like a good challenge and adventure in my life. Everything was good until I hit a bad rainstorm on my way back and couldn’t see the road before me. Being legally blind and driving down a highway through a bad storm isn’t fun. Again I found myself crying out to God for help.

After getting off the highway and taking city streets, I finally made it back to the fairgrounds just in time to get a good seat for the remaining concerts. Huddled up in front of me were members of one church wearing red church shirts with its name and a scripture on the back. As everyone settled down for the next concert, one of the members turned to me and offered me a beer.

Of course, I refused (not politely) because I don’t drink anymore. My heart began to sink as I continued to watch this community of believers drink and smoke cigarettes. At one time, a couple within the group began to argue and the man sounded like a sailor on leave visiting a bar.

I couldn’t help but wonder what other people were thinking about this spectacle. What was the message this church was trying to share? I mean there were little kids playing ball less than 10 feet away from the group. I don’t mean to come off the judgemental, but listen to how Jesus explained how we know who follow Him and who they will glorify ( Matthew 7:16.)

Fortunately, the arguing couple prompted the church to leave and not a moment too soon. The hometown heroes– the international group Third Day took the stage to close out the festival. Before they opened, lead singer Mac Powell shared a story about their opening song. “A few years ago the band was playing a concert in the Northeast and was approached afterwards by a wealthy middle-aged couple.

The woman shared, ‘Last year our only son drove to a field outside the city and parked his car overlooking the city. He had taken my husband’s gun with him and was going to commit suicide. Until he turned on the radio and found a Christian station playing your song cry out to Jesus . And that’s what our son did. Our son changed his mind and came home and cried to us.”

Mac Powell explained, “That’s the beauty about God, He hears us; when we are hurting, lonely or confused. All we have to do is cry out to God. He will hear us. We’re all hurting in one way or another. We all have fears and we all have hopes and dreams; God is waiting for us to turn to Him.”

This is why the apostle Paul told the church in Philippi to run to God in every situation, good or bad (Philippians 4:4–7.) In his latest book The Question That Never Goes Away Philip Yancey explains, “God seems to understand fully the grounds of our protest as well as our need to rage against the pain.”

It’s not that God doesn’t already know what is on our minds or in our hearts, not that He doesn’t know our hopes and dreams. Like any father He wants to hear from His children. Like any husband He wants to hear from His bride. There’s no need to go around trying to pretend we’re not hurting. There’s no need to HIDE like Adam and Eve did in THE GARDEN (Genesis 3:1– 8) when we make mistakes. I’m free to be me. There’s no need to wear a mask and I FEEL SO ALIVE, it’s not a sin to be open and honest (at least it used not to be.)

This is appropriate since we will celebrate HALLOWEEN in less than a month. I know we celebrate “Fall festivals” because we don’t want them running around wearing costumes and masks. But we have no problem teaching them one thing and then not living that way. It’s Halloween, no matter what you call it. Likewise sin is sin, no matter how we try to justify it. When I was a child my father always told me, “Do as I say, not as I do. “And that’s what this remixed blog will be about.

POKER(REMIXED AND REPOSTED?)

When I was in college it was common for most of my friends to play poker on the weekends and sometimes on “special days” during the week. With it came the usual trappings of gambling and drinking.For the really daring and brave students, the ones who unashamedly flaunted what their mama’s gave them and played strip poker, sex (physical) was a bonus. Personally, I never really got into the game, not even strip poker (not that I didn’t want the sex ;) I just didn’t like the idea of being dishonest. I’m a firm believer that there’s a right way and a wrong way to do everything– lying isn’t an option.

Although I didn’t and still don’t know much about playing poker, I know the key to being successful in the game, is not letting the other players know the hand you are holding. The better you are at bluffing (lying,) the better your chances are of winning. Strip poker is even worse– you hide your hand (lie) to get someone to take their clothes off and reveal what should be hidden.

Maybe I had some morals in me during college after all; maybe I was even a little good like my friends said. Probably not! I guess it goes back to how I was raised. When I was little and my family traveled a lot, we played the card game Rummy. For those of you who have never played it, this is a game where the cards are dealt on the table face up for all to see. Throughout the game players are to lay down their cards that match cards with the discard pile.

Throughout the game each player sees what cards the other players have and can even help each other play the game. It taught me a lot about life, we can help each other. We’re all on the same playing field and no one is better than anyone else. This is how the apostle Paul told the church at Corinth that the body of Christ should work (1 Corinthians 12:25– 26.) The church is the original UNITED KINGDOM (UK.)

When we humble ourselves and put others before us (Philippians 2:3–6) THE GLORY OF GOD is shown, not ours. Of course we try to give God the glory by tacking on the phrase “To God be the glory” or in “Jesus’ name” after we say or do something in an attempt to justify our worldly lusts and pride. Our actions reveal who gets the glory, not our words. We are called to live like we mean it.

We definitely like wearing a POKER FACE to get what we want. Hamas’ Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh once said, “Some people think that the truth can be hidden with a little cover-up and decoration. But as time goes by, what is true is revealed, and what is fake fades away.”

We treat Jesus like He’s an AFTERTHOUGHT instead of Him being our purpose for everything; if this disgusts me, a broken and miserable sinner. How do you think it makes a perfect God feel? As if we think we can fool Him. We think we can keep a secret from Him. The Bible is clear, nothing is hidden from God (Ecclesiastes 12:14, Matthew 10:24–26, Luke 8:17, Hebrews 4:13.) And SOMEDAY the truth will come out.

We may impress people for a little while, but eventually the truth will come out. Ask fallen evangelist Jim Bakker, he once said after his fall from grace, “You can't fake it when you're alone with God, you know.” Why even try to hide it? In an old message by Jentzen Franklin he explained, “When we try to cover our sin, God will expose it. But when we confess our sin, God is faithful to cover it.” This is what was happening in the garden with Adam and Eve. They sinned and tried to cover it. While it’s always best to be honest and to say, “I’m sorry, I was wrong and I love you.”

This is what struck me about Angel in the book Redeeming Love, she knew she was an adulterer and didn’t try to hide it. Every time Michael’s brother-in-law Paul confronted her about her past, she would admit, “Michael knew what I was when he married me.” This is what impressed me about the young woman I went out with earlier this year, from day one she was honest about her beliefs. Even though she knew that I didn’t agree with them. My father always told me, “It’s better to be hated for who you are, then loved for who you’re not.”

Most of you who know me, know that I hate it when women wear a lot of makeup; especially lipstick, kissing a woman who wears a lot of lipstick is like chewing on the end of a pencil; it leaves the taste of the lead in a man’s mouth! I’ve never understood the concept of makeup. Most women claim they want to be loved for who they are, not their looks. Then they spend hours primping in the mirror to get ready to go out, which is vanity (one of the seven deadly sins.)

And then get mad at men for staring or lusting. The Bible doesn’t speak too highly about vanity or outward appearance (1 Samuel 16:7, Proverbs 31:30, Jeremiah 4:30, 1 Timothy 4:8,) so why do we? Ironically Miley Cyrus once said, “I think that turning on the charm without being fake is really important.” A real lady knows that true beauty comes from the inside, perhaps her heart. This is what makes her either shine bright like lightning on a dark night or show the darkness inside.

When I was in the hospital after my accident, the young woman who duped me into trying drugs with her came to visit me. She wanted to know where she could buy wine on a Sunday. At the time in Georgia it was illegal to sell alcoholic beverages on Sunday except at restaurants. After I explained this to her, she remarked, “Maybe I can go to the grocery store and find a young guy working at the register.” Confused, I asked what she meant, “Come on, haven’t you ever used your looks to get what you wanted?” At that point I saw through her mask. My friends had warned me all along. Joan Jett once sang, “You’ve got nothing to lose. You don't lose when you lose fake friends.”

I’ve never been one for wearing masks myself; I’ve never been one to hide my feelings, either. Back when I used to model in Atlanta, there were days I had to put on concealer and other makeup for photo shoots. One thing I learned quickly was, if you don’t get all of the makeup off, pimples develop and your skin looks worse. Again, the truth always comes out.

I don’t think when I’m married; I’ll rollover and see my wife lying beside me FACE TO FACE looking perfect with makeup on at two in the morning. Most men tend to look for women to be perfect, physically, while women expect men to be PERFECT emotionally and spiritually. Hello, none of us are perfect. That’s no secret. It’s no secret Jesus is the epitome of perfection (Hebrews 12:2,) not us..

Rob Bell explains in his book Sex God, “There is a saying in the recovery movement: ‘You are only as sick as your secrets,’ this is true for relationships as well. If there are secrets that haven’t been shared, topics that can’t be discussed, things from the past that are forbidden to be brought up, it can cripple a marriage.” FAMILY SECRETS are the worst kind; the truth will come out SOONER OR LATER just like in poker.

THE TRUTH?

In the beginning of the book of John there is one of the most quoted and misunderstood passages about truth. Jesus is traveling through Samaria on His way to Galilee when He meets a Samaritan woman at a well. This is odd because to the Jews the Samaritans are lowlifes and pagans that came from the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim after their deportation in 722 BC into Assyria.

This woman is astonished that Jesus would even talk to her, because she knows the truth. She knows that Jews don’t talk to Samaritans, Samaritans are beneath Jews. She wanted water to drink to satisfy a temporary thirst; Jesus never gave it to her, He wanted to make her GOOD FOREVER. Instead He washed her with the truth that she was an adulterer, a sinner like you and I.

Instead Jesus frees her from her sin. He asks her to BELIEVE in Him. And she isn’t upset; the woman is so excited that the truth is out that she stops hiding and she runs back to town to tell others about Jesus and they too believe (John 4:1– 42.)

Before the woman goes to town, Jesus revealed some of the greatest truths ever. We don’t have to go anywhere specific to “worship” God (John 4:21.) He tells her that true worshipers will worship God in spirit and truth, no more masks (John 4:23– 24.) We worship God by showing and living in the spirit of His love. By doing what Jesus did. A few chapters later Jesus tells a group of Jews who believed in Him, “The truth will set you free (John 8:32.)” Grace is our answer to our freedom cry. Matt Redman recently tweeted, “For worship to be worship, it must contain something of the otherness of God.”

Church, we have to stop wearing masks. We have to stop hiding behind church walls throwing Scripture bombs to a lost and dying world. We believe in having a personal relationship with Jesus, but He is not our own PERSONAL JESUS. He came to save the sick and broken of this world. Jefferson Bethke recently tweeted, “Church isn’t a Museum for good people, it’s a hospital for the broken.” If we are indeed Christians, then we are to be Christlike; which means we must do what He did, die to self and our will, which is the only way to glorify God.

Besides God knows when we’re fakin’ the faith like Judas who wanted to get rich. We have to stop hiding behind buildings and our false religion. The truth is we are broken, hurting and wretched sinners and there’s nothing we can do about it, if it weren’t for the GRACE of God we would be just as helpless and lost as the world. Some present the gospel like it’s having the winning lottery ticket and we never have to struggle, but the truth is we all FALL APART. David knew this as he cried out to God in the Psalms (Psalms 32:5, 51:3–5) and later the apostle Paul declared his own wretchedness (Romans 7:24–25.)

Paul would reveal a thorn was given to him to humble him (2 Corinthians 12:7– 10.) Paul could no longer wear a mask and neither can we, neither can I. You see, I would like to believe that I don’t wear masks, but I do. Part of the reason I work out so much is that I hope people will see my muscles, my physical appearance and not see my disability.

Because the truth is I’m just a scared and weak little boy. I’m a “nobody” and I’m fine with that. If nothing that I write ever gets sold were printed again. I’m content. I don’t write for fame or fortune, I write out of obedience to God. No, I don’t have to be someone great in this world, but I must serve something greater than I. That’s being a “nobody.” And that’s who God likes to use. Joshua Harris recently tweeted, “Wisdom for cultivating contentment: "Don't compare everyday moments of your life to someone else's highlight reel.”

In his classic Twelve Ordinary Men John MacArthur explains, “God’s favorite instruments are nodies, so that no man can boast before God. In other words, God chooses whom He chooses in order that He might receive the glory.” I’m not famous and not popular; I’m not rich (in an earthly sense.) In my case I’m below a nobody, I’m disabled and no matter how hard I try, I can’t RUN AWAY from it. I know that’s not politically correct; but I’m not a politician, either.

Money may buy you happiness, but it can never by you true contentment. A “nobody” who is content is richer than a somebody who has everything, but can never get enough. Mark Driscoll once wrote, “Growing up Catholic I thought saints were like superheroes. Superman can fly. Aquaman can breathe underwater. Chastityman can keep his hands to himself.” Despite what we may want to believe, we are still broken sinners.

I have other health concerns than just my brain injury that keep me humble; which is good, not BAD. In an article I wrote for the Chicken Soup for the Soul series I shared about my experience with humility, “We may not see them at the time, but when we LOOK back over our lives, we can see the humor in our humility. It can be a bad decision or mistake that we have made. It can be a circumstance that is out of our hands completely and we must rely on God’s provision, which is humbling in itself.” I can’t even type because of my disability, I must rely on speech technology to help me write. So actually I’m speaker not a writer, it’s pathetic.

Don’t we believe that God takes our messes and makes them messages? Don’t we believe that God turns our tests into testimonies? THE STRUGGLE in my life is God MAKING ME MORE than I could be on my own. Someone once said, ““Life is like photography. You need the negatives to develop.” GOD HELP ME TO BE what you want me to be. Because the truth is Martin Johnson is not STRONG ENOUGH or good enough to do God’s will. Paul admitted something similar to the church in Corinth (2 Corinthians 12:10.)

I know how weak I am. That’s why I don’t tempt myself by going to bars or allowing women to come over to my place alone. I don’t want the TEMPTATION. I don’t like playing with fire anymore. James Merritt said it best a few years ago to message, “I guarantee that if you don’t put yourself in the wrong place with the wrong person at the wrong time, the wrong thing will never happen.” The sooner we acknowledge our mistakes and weaknesses, the quicker God can help us and He can get the glory.

I recently had some friends who got evicted from their apartment; they had been shacking up together for almost a year. Before they were evicted they admitted that they were wrong, but they never did anything about it. Now these were Christians who refused to work on Sunday because they believed it was wrong, but they didn’t want to do anything about living together, they called it love. They believed that they were good enough. We aren’t good just because we SAY SO.

Good 3.0?

I recently shared with a group of men at my church, “THE VOW to God you took on your wedding day, wasn’t a vow to be perfect or to a perfect person.” It’s THE CONTRACT to your wife that is supposed to guarantee in good times and bad times, YOU NEVER LEAVE her and you show each other MERCY. Isn’t that love really means? As Joshua Harris said, “Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved.”

God’s love shows us that when love takes over, imperfections and mistakes are covered. We all make mistakes. Even Jesus said that none of us are good (Mark 10:18,) we all need grace. Marriage isn’t the place to experiment with grace; it’s where grace is unplugged. Just like through Jesus, LOVE RESTORES. If a woman can’t show me grace while were dating or getting to know each other, I don’t see the relationship going much farther.

While I was working on this blog I saw a clip from an old Billy Graham Crusade message from 1983 where he declared that even he was a sinner and needed God’s grace. How did we (the church) go from such a spirit of humility to a spirit of supremacy that we have today? With church leaders and teachers claiming we are so rich and powerful and we deserve the best of this world? Churches water down worship to simple songs that make people feel good. Paul warned his protégé Timothy that this would happen (2 Timothy 4:3.) He also warned that they would use Christianity as a way to get rich (1 Timothy 6:5 – 9.) Most millennials admit there’s something wrong, they know there’s more to the Christian life than lip service and looking good.

One of the fundamental beliefs of Christianity is that we aren’t saved by works; we can’t earn grace, we can’t work our way into heaven and we can’t sing our way into heaven, either. At this point let me clarify, I have nothing against singing Christian songs or praise music. In fact I recently joined the choir at a new church that I became a member of a few months ago. I enjoy a good PRAISE, PARTY ROCK. Singing is one of the ways that we communicate with God. A good song can make even me tear up at times.

But this is where draw the line, because spiritualism isn’t emotionalism. You see, sometimes we like to sing songs and PUT ON our masks of emotionalism to look godly. Christian rapper Lecrae recently tweeted, “Use your hurt and happiness. Don't let them use you. If you don't master your emotions, your emotions will master you. “I don’t have to SING AND SHOUT HALLELUJAH to be a Christian.

Even the lost can do that and never enter the presence of God. God is the church’s only hiding place. Personally I prefer those intimate times when I praise God alone, like when I was on the cable left at the Christian music festival. Because then I was singing for an audience of one. I wasn’t trying to show off for anyone. Mark Driscoll recently posted, “Artistry becomes idolatry when there is confusion between the Creator and the created.”

And this is how the church comes off sometimes, we want so hard to look like we have everything together. We want so hard to be good that we go OVERBOARD trying to be good; we put our good works on display, we pray long or extravagant prayers in public, and we try to sing moving or inspirational songs. All of which Jesus spoke against (Matthew 6:1–34.) These are good, but we get carried away at times. Just like a young girl who is learning how to wear makeup. She wants so desperately to look beautiful and older that it backfires and she only shows her immaturity.

It’s like the young “Christian” woman that I went out with a couple of years ago, most of you have heard the story about how my best friend introduced us and made her out to be a “Godly woman after God’s heart.” When we went on our first date, she had a blouse with a plunging neckline that would make Jennifer Lopez blush. This woman thought she was a SHOWSTOPPER. Again, most women believe it’s their bodies that make them a lady. But a true lady doesn’t need to show any cleavage and she doesn’t need to be in the LIMELIGHT to be GLOWING IN THE DARK. Likewise the church can’t believe we're an it girl (a lady) because of how we look.

The church is called to be the SALT, LIGHT of the earth, we don’t have to tell anyone; we just have to be the light and shine. Salt is first mined from the earth and taken from the dirt. Then it is applied to wounds for healing, is not a temporary PAINKILLER. It should be obvious that we are salt, just like there is an obvious difference between a lady and a woman. Jesus told His followers that it is so obvious, it’s like a city on a hill that can’t be hidden (Matthew 5:14– 16.) People should be able to see THE GOD IN ME by how I live. St. Francis of Agasi famously said, “Always preach the gospel. And if necessary, use words.”

Worldly people are all about grandstanding and make a name for themselves. The church isn’t supposed to work that way, we don’t have to go big in the world for God. God can use the simplest thing, like a sunrise or a little baby being born to bring glory to Himself. We don’t NEED big buildings to do God’s work or to glorify Him. The prophet Malachi taught God’s people to bring their ties into the church, a storehouse (a barn.) Jesus told a parable to His disciples warning them that bigger isn’t always better (Luke 12:16– 21.) Don’t we believe that God can do anything? He did make man from dirt. Don’t we believe that the people are the church? We don’t need better buildings, we need better disciples.

Yet, we put more emphasis and time into temporary buildings, instead of eternal souls that REMAIN forever. Our IDENTITY is in Christ, not buildings. The body of Christ should glorify God, not a wretched building. Perhaps this is why God allowed for the temple to be destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. Because God had a new plan, a better plan that this world wouldn’t understand. He is going to use the least to glorify Himself. Greater plans than ours.

The apostle Paul warned the church in Corinth that God makes the wisdom and things of this world are FOOLISHNESS to God and He will expose it (1 Corinthians 3:18– 4:5.) Because the truth is we want to be better than God and do bigger things. Things that will make us famous or rich– the truth is we’re not I lady, just a material girl with a LOVE GONE MAD. We want to do things for our glory. We work so hard to be major, when we need to get LOST IN MINORVILLE. . Hell isn't a going be full of bad people, I’m sure there will be plenty of people who thought they were good enough to go to heaven.

In his book Gods at War, Idleman explains that is the simple things in life that Jesus says are good, “In Luke 10, even though he has a lot to do and only a little time, it’s surprising that Jesus took time to stop and visit with a few good friends, Mary and Martha. There the two sisters of Lazarus, and Jesus clearly has a special relationship with that family. The Scriptures tell us that Martha opened her home to Jesus, and here’s the scene that took place: two sisters, one hurrying around frantically with all the preparations wanting to make the home worthy of Jesus, the other sitting quality at his feet, listening... The God of achievement distracts us from following Jesus by distracting us with all the things that need to be done. How often do we live with good intentions of spending time with Jesus and turning our heart toward him only to find at the end of the day that’s the one thing on our checklist that we never got around to?“ But we think that if we are successful in a worldly sense, we're successful in a Christian sense, really?

Perhaps this is why the church teaches people to chase their dreams, which is what the world does and what Satan tried to get Jesus to do (Matthew 4:1– 11.) Perhaps this is why we constantly chase things of this world like dogs chasing cars. My mother raised me to be a man, not a dog–I don’t chase things, or women. I may like a challenge, but I’m not CHASING YOUR LOVE. Every man knows that nine times out of 10 if you chase a woman, she won’t be worth the chase if you catch her; especially if she’s dreamy gorgeous.

We like having SWEET DREAMS to chase after, only to catch them and realize that NONE COMPARE to the TRUE GOD. Don’t we claim to believe that He’s all we’ve EVER WANTED away? Unfortunately we constantly crave more? We really don’t have changed hearts’ after all. This is why for some LETTING GO of their dreams is worse than dying, because they have earned it; at this point in my life I’m, ALL IN.

Three years ago I could’ve chased my dream and move back to Colorado for good, I could have manipulated the situation and did what I wanted. But I knew deep down inside that it wasn’t God’s time. I’m sure I would’ve been happy at first, but eventually I would be restless and not content. I decided it was best to be obedient to God’s leading. Just because we can figure a way out to make things work, doesn’t necessarily make it right or God’s will. Sometimes it takes more faith to be still and trust God; to let Him fight our battles, WE GONE MAKE IT. I may have a brain injury and be legally blind, but I’m not DEAF.

Don’t we believe and say, “IN GOD WE TRUST. But the truth is we just trust in the things He will do for us, that’s not love. WHERE HAS OUR LOVE GONE? I’m sure the women reading this know when a guy is faking his feelings to get what he wants and you know when he’s putting on a charade. In the words of Forest Gump, “I’m not a smart man, but I know what LOVE IS.”

It’s not KICKING AND SCREAMING to get something you want from someone (1 Corinthians 13:4– 6.) Love is giving to someone what they can never earn or do for themselves and that’s where we can REST. There’s nothing you can do to make God LOVE YOU BETTER. John Piper recently shared, “The more you bask in the sovereignty of your God the more you'll relax in the complexity of your life.” The truth is that JESUS IS more than enough to satisfy His bride for all eternity, there’s no need for anything MORE THAN LOVE from Him. Unless we are adulterers and can be faithful to the one who died for us.

This is what Gracie Trey eventually learned in the movie Grace Unplugged. Sometimes we get so busy doing what we want because God has gifted us that we don’t realize who we are really working for. Likewise, sometimes the church gets so busy doing church work and wearing our church clothes that we neglect doing real kingdom work.

While I was at Celebrate Freedom, I was amazed to learn that Family Christian bookstores have been a 501K organization since December of last year.Even the apostle Paul dealt with misguided and deceitful teachers in his time. Like Satan they masqueraded as Angels of light, but one day God will reveal they were only playing poker (2 Corinthians 11:12– 15.)