Sunday afternoon Josh and I took a 3 mile hike.  We went to Hobbs Conservation area and hiked the Bashore Ridge Loop.  It was a good brisk hike.  Alot of hollows but the greatest part was the view of Beaver Lake.  On the ridge loop it takes you by a ridge that overlooks the Lake and it was beautiful on this sunny day!  I think the most interesting sight was the old truck that seemed out of place.  I wondered if they broke down a long time ago and never got it towed.  The chrome in the middle of the windshield looked brand new.  It was extremely shiny with no rust.

We have been having spring-like weather here in Northwest Arkansas so we went out for the day, Saturday.  Took a trip to Devil’s Den State Park.  One of the most beautiful places of NWA.

We had another a great day yesterday.  The worship was awesome.  The team introduced Everlasting God and the crowd picked it up quickly.  Our Project Rebuild is coming along well.  We have already received pledges and offerings that total around $20,000.  God is supplying our needs!

We began our Wisdom For Living series by looking at the story of Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived.  God asked Solomon what he wanted God to do for him.  Solomon had a blank check from God and he asked for Wisdom.  We learned how Solomon was tested by God and wound up passing  the test.  I am looking forward to our new series from the book of Proverbs.

• Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.
• Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.
• Never spend your money before you have it.
• Never buy what you don’t want because it is cheap.
• Pride costs more than hunger, thirst and cold.
• We seldom repent of having eaten too little.
• Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly.
• How much pain and evils have cost us that have never happened.
• Take things always by the smooth handle.
• When angry, count ten before you speak; if very angry, count to one hundred.

There is a song by one of my favorite bands, Delirious?, called History Maker that explains our mission as believers. 

Yes, it’s true today that when people stand
With the fire of God, and the truth in hand
We’ll see miracles, we’ll see angels sing
We’ll see broken hearts making history
Yes, it’s true and we believe it we’re living for You

I’m gonna be a history maker in this land
I’m gonna be a speaker of truth to all mankind
(History Maker, by Martin Smith of Delirious?)

What a message!  What a calling!  You and I are meant to be history makers.  Note the line that said that we’ll see broken hearts making history.  Everyone of us has a story.  We all have something that has affected our lives, but God has created each of us to be History Makers.

God is not limited because of where you have been.  His hands are not tied because you have made mistakes in your life.  His purpose for you is unchanged no matter where you have been or what you have gone through.  You are to be a history maker!

Think of the rough shod group that He chose as disciples.  They all deserted Jesus when He was arrested.  They ran away like cowards.  Thomas doubted. Peter denied. The rest departed but yet they were His disciples.  This was the lot that He chose to represent Him.  After the resurrection and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit this roughshod group of disciples became fire-baptized History Makers.

My favorite verse in all of the New Testament records, "These who have turned the world upside down have come here too."  (Acts 17:6)

They can run but they cannot hide.  The world changers had come there to that town too.  Oh, if it could only be said of today’s believers that we have turned the world upside down.  It would be an awesome thing if the world would be a little intimidated because of the church’s power. 

You have the ability to make history wherever you are.  On your job you can turn them upside down. In our community you can make a difference.  You can change the world one life at a time.  Child of God, you are a history maker!

Let’s go out and win the world for Christ.  Let’s look at the opportunities God has placed all around us and work for the furthering of the Gospel. 

Is your heart in your worship?

Psalm 9:1 says, “I will praise You, O’ Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of your marvelous works.”

There are a couple of things that we can learn from such a powerful Scripture.  First is the heart of praise.  Often when we praise God we do it only half-heartedly.  We come to church shackled with our problems and our cluttered minds and only give a portion of ourselves in worship.  In our time of prayer at home we move quickly past the praise and worship to the ask and receive mode. 

The thing about praise is that if you will do it long enough your troubles will seem to vanish.  Yes, they are still there but your perspective changes.  After lifting up the magnificent name of Jesus you can’t help but have faith that He will bring you through.  Praise is the catalyst that propels you past the circumstances of life, past the hum drum of routines in life, past the endless deadlines.  Praise helps us focus on an eternal God that is concerned with our daily needs.  We have a tendency to think that if we praise God He won’t answer our prayers.  We feel like we have to tell God our problems for Him to know about them.  Friends, I believe in bringing our requests to God, but we must praise Him with our whole hearts.

I can guarantee  that if you will praise Him with all you have, He will show up to meet your needs.  The Bible says that God inhabits the praises of His people.  Selfishness keeps us focused on our problems instead of on the God who has the answer to those problems.  I challenge you today to praise God with your whole heart and see what happens.  You don’t have to be at church to praise God you can do it wherever you are.

Second, We must tell of His wonderful deeds.  Why must we tell of God’s marvelous works?  Of course, because He deserves praise but especially because when we tell of His marvelous deeds it causes us to believe that He will do it again.  I don’t know about you but everyone has a story to tell.  Everyone can look back at how God acted on their behalf at one time or another.  Thanksgiving helps us focus on what God has done rather than on what He hasn’t done.  God’s ways are marvelous.  His works are beyond compare.  Some may say, “He hasn’t done anything for me.”  If God doesn’t do anything else for me, He has already done enough by saving me from sin.  There is always something to be thankful for.

If the church was full of perfect people there would be no need for church.  The fact is that even as believers we make mistakes.  We fail God more often than we would like to and so many times we hang our head in shame and condemnation.

As disciples of Christ we seek to live holy and righteous before Him, desiring to please Him with our lives.  The fact of the matter is, however, that even as disciples we mess up.  Looking at the failures of those closest to Christ, this notion is not far fetched.

Peter denied Christ three times…
Thomas doubted…
James and John wanted to be the greatest (pride)…
At Jesus’ betrayal all disciples forsook Him…

Sounds like a group of men who needed grace!  Child of God, we have not obtained perfection yet.  We are still in need of God’s grace.  Grace means God’s unmerited favor.  You can do nothing to earn it.  It is free!  If we could have earned it there would have been no need for Christ to die on the Cross.  We would still be shedding the blood of goats.  Now, God extends grace to those who sin.

Do not misunderstand me, this is not cheap grace.  This is grace that cost our Savior His life.  We are not to live the way we want and indulge in sin and expect God’s grace to forgive us.  We must strive to live right.  We must flee temptation.  We must desire to be holy, but when we mess up God is there to forgive.

The key to forgiveness is repentance.  James said, "God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble."  Our avenue to grace is by coming to Him in humility and admitting failure.  "Lord, I am sorry for blowing my top today.  Help me not to do it again."  We must come to God in an attitude of repentance and willingness to change.

Jesus’ disciples were a group of men who humbled themselves after their failures.  Peter didn’t deny Christ again.  James and John humbled themselves.  Thomas believed.  All the disciples but one died a martyr’s death, they never forsook Christ again.  The moral of the story here is that even though they failed they didn’t continue to live in their sin.  In our lives we should accept God’s grace and move on.  Leaving those things which are behind, I press on!

There will always be struggles with temptations in our lives.  We will fall again.  But when we do, we can come to Christ and He will forgive us.  I John 2:1, "My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin.  And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous."  I hold on to this verse because it shows me that Christ is our Advocate.  I desire to live a holy life, but when I fail I can count on the grace of God to cover the multitude of sins. 

We have hope today in the fact that we do not have to live in shame and condemnation over failures.  Christ died for our sins.  Don’t let the devil tell you to give up.  Accept the grace of God and overcome.