What will 2009 hold?

Wow, it's been a long time since I've actually sat down and blogged. Since the last time I have put myself out there in cyberland, me and my wife Carmen have made the move to Las Vegas and started a new chapter in our life. More about that later...:)

One of the things that I love about being blessed to work in the secular world is that you have more of an understanding of what the toubles and trials of the people outside of the church are. When I worked full time at the Church, I became distanced from what was happening in the lives of those who had never experienced the love of the Lord. My secular job today places me with a lot of business people across North America, and I can tell you that there are a lot of scared people out there. They're scared about what 2009 holds for them.

As I deal with people who are living in a constant state of anxiety over everything from finances to family matters, it reminds me of how quickly we forget the words of Colossians 3:2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. The US today is in one of the most troubling times since the Great Depression, yet you find fewer people who are willing to turn to prayer. People today will focus more on self-help books and earthly ways to try to find relief from their fears, when all they really have to do is to get back to the basics, the basics of the Bible. It's the perfect self-help book. Here's some pointer to help you with that:

• Stop worrying so much. Go to God's Word and find the way to peace when you thumb through the pages. Perfect peace is found when you totally rely on your creator.
• Learn, or remind yourself, on where your thoughts should really be. Worrying about what you can do to change something that will only change through the will of God is like running into a brick wall, complaining that it hurts, and then doing it again.
• Remind yourself that life on this earth is short. It's our audition to see if we're worthy enough to spend eternity in the Heavenly Kingdom with our father who loves us so much.

There's probably a thousand ways to take your eyes off the world and put them back to the Lord, so find what works for you and do it. God has a plan for the World, and we can't change it. So stop worrying, and start worshiping.

Have an Blessed day, and we'll see ya soon

Pastor Mike

In sickness and in health

By far the most requested prayer request that I get from people is for the gift of healing, and this week has been no different. Today I would like to request special prayer for my Mother-in-Law, and my Aunt. They're both battling lung cancer, and it's not a good prognosis for either one. My Mother-in-law is saved, and knows the power of the Lord, but my Aunt needs special prayer in this area of her life.

As I was praying for these two women, it reminded me that "All things are possible through Christ Who strengthens me (Ph 4:13)." It's easy to pray for someone and just walk away leaving it in God's hands, but it's a much tougher thing to believe it. I mean Truly believe it. One of the most incredibel passages in the Bible addresses this issue in

Matthew 9:27-30 27As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!" 28When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" "Yes, Lord," they replied. 29Then he touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith will it be done to you"; 30and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, "See that no one knows about this."

Two things from this passage need to be noted here, the question of faith, and the results true faith will bring. Jesus asked the men if they truly believed, and they replied , "yes Lord." They didn't just say yes, they said yes LORD. They truly believed that Jesus was Lord, Lord over their affliction, and through that faith, they were healed. Results like this are not limited to just a select few, anybody can be healed when they have true faith.

How does your faith compare to these two men? Do you have someone in your life that needs prayer, and if you do, do you TRULY believe that they can be healed? The Bible says where there are two or more gathered, it can be done. Please let us pray for you on any request that you may have. We've already been adding a prayer warrior a day from throughout he US, so allow us to do what the Lord has called us to do through our gifting. Please feel free to email us at lifemendersministries@yahoo.com for a prayer warrior to pray for you today.

Loving and praying for you today,
Pastor Mike

Update

Well, as you can tell from my last blog, I didn't keep my word to well. I mentioned last Summer that I would be keeping in touch with everyone through this blog, but it's been so chaotic this last year that I failed to keep my word.

As I've been working through some very serious family health issues, God has blessed us in many ways. It reminds me that trials can in fact be our best friend. They strengthen and grow us. We grumble and mumble our way through them, but we MUST keep the faith. God will give us the strength we need to endure these tests.

Having said this, I would like to pray my way through the rest of the year and go on a sort of, prayer pilgrimage." I would like to use this blog as a place for people to post and pray for their needs, as well as the needs of others. Please feel free to email me at lifemendersministries@yahoo.com to have your request posted and prayed for. I don't care if I've ever met you or not, if you have a prayer, I'll be there for you.

Well, I look forward to hearing from you all and having the privilege of being your prayer warrior. Have an awesome day.

Pastor Mike

Welcome back to me!

Well, as most of you have noticed, I've been gone for quite some time. There's been a number of things going on in our lives that have kept me from doing anything here, and now that things are starting to settle down, I'll be more vigilant about serving God on this site. I'll be seeing you all tomorrow, so until then, God Bless you.

How is homosexuality right?

I have now come to a conclusion about myself. I have come to the self-realization that I AM NOT POLITICALLY CORRECT. I will never agree with homosexuality. There, I said it. To all those people (even in some VERY misguided churches) that say God accepts this class of people in there present state, I ask you to refer to the story of Sodom and Gomorah. Now does this mean I hate homosexuals, no. I just consider them to be in a state that keeps them from a closer relationship with God just like any other sinner. Now I know that by saying this very open statement, I'll draw some fire, but I would rather be Biblically correct than politically correct.
1 Corintians 6:9-10 says Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters, nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thiefs nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderes nor swindlers will inherit the Kingdom of God. There, the Bible says it, not me. It's plain as day, the homosexual offenders are lumped in with the rest of us sinners (yes, I said us). The fact of the matter is that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but we're not forgiven until we recognize that we need our Lord Jesus to forgive us of our sinful ways. That includes homosexuality.

The problem that we as Christians face today is that the vocal minority in this nation are getting laws passed that call us biggots if we have a different view than they do. There is legislation in various states making it against certain non-profit laws for a church to preach against homosexuality. They call it a hate crime, we call it our beliefs. Having said this, I wonder who the biggots really are. The following story is from a local Pastor who does some very incredible writing on how political issues are effecting the church and the believer. Please don't read it and do nothing, write your congress people and let them know that you will not put up with this. Do it for the sake of the Church before it's to late....

Far left Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) has once again introduced his so-called “hate crimes” bill to provide special federal protection for homosexuality, cross-dressing, and transsexualism.

H.R. 1592, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007, is a rehash of his 2005 bill, according to sources in Congress.

H.R. 1592 claims there is an epidemic of “hate” against homosexuals and cross-dressers that is so pervasive throughout our nation, that local law enforcement officials are overwhelmed in dealing with the problem.

In addition, Conyers’ and his congressional cohorts claim – without any evidence whatsoever – that homosexuals, cross-dressers, etc., are so persecuted in their home states that they are fleeing into neighboring states to avoid persecution.

The legislation asserts that violence against these groups forces “such members to move across state lines to escape the incidence or risk of such violence.” Liberals also claim things are so bad for homosexuals, cross-dressers, etc., that these individuals are prevented “from purchasing goods and services; obtaining or sustaining employment, or participating in other commercial activity.”

The bogus claim that interstate travel is involved in “hate,” is needed by Conyers to invoke federal involvement in local law enforcement through the Interstate Commerce Clause of the Constitution.

“Conyers has created a whole false scenario about hordes of homosexuals and cross-dressers fleeing across state lines in order to justify his dangerous hate crimes bill,” said TVC Executive Director Andrea Lafferty. “If there is such a mass migration of homosexuals, cross-dressers and drag queens across state lines, I wonder why the mainstream media hasn’t reported on this national tragedy? Of course, the truth is that there is no migration of fear-filled drag queens or homosexuals crossing state lines to avoid being beaten up.”

Contrary to what John Conyers claims, there is no epidemic of hate against individuals because of their sexual orientation. FBI hate crime statistics from 2005 (the latest available) report only 1,171 cases of sexual orientation bias against individuals. Of those, 301 were listed as “intimidation,” which is name-calling. Another 333 were listed as “simple assault,” which is pushing or shoving. Only 177 were listed as aggravated assault against a person because of his sexual orientation.

“In a nation of 300 million, the existence of 1,171 “hate crimes” against individuals hardly constitutes a national epidemic that is overwhelming local police departments or sheriff’s departments.

“The ultimate goal of Conyers’ bill is to silence all opposition to the homosexual/transgender political agenda. So-called ‘hate speech’ will be suppressed because it supposedly incites individuals to violence against homosexuals/ transgenders. Defined by homosexuals, hate speech is any verbal or printed materials that criticize the normalization of sodomy in our culture. The goal is to undermine the First Amendment and persecute Christians who oppose homosexuality” said Lafferty.

TAKE ACTION: Contact your U.S. Representative immediately and ask that they vote NO on Conyer’s hate crimes bill. Use the information provided above for your email correspondence when you use CapWiz.

Having some ice cream

Sometimes it's easy to get so caught up in our own world that we just plain old forget to take a look around us and slow down. As you notice lately, I have become so busy with so many things going on that I haven't been blogging much. People have asked me why, but to be honest with you, I don't have a real good reason other than the fact that I have poor time management skills.

My friend, Pastor Al Warren, sent me an email today that reminded me the importance of sitting down and taking the time to be with God's people. It reminded me that the act of kindness can rekindle even the coldest of hearts. Please take the time to read the email below that he sent me and se how it touches your heart today.



Saying Grace In A Restaurant

Last week, I took my children to a restaurant.

My six-year-old son asked if he could say grace.

As we bowed our heads he said, “God is good, God is great. Thank you for the food, and I would even thank you more if Mom gets us ice cream for dessert. And Liberty and justice for all! Amen!”

Along with the laughter from the other customers nearby, I heard a woman remark, “That’s what’s wrong with this country. Kids today don’t even know how to pray. Asking God for ice cream! Why, I never!”

Hearing this, my son burst into tears and asked me, “Did I do it wrong? Is God mad at me?”

As I held him and assured him that he had done a terrific job, and God was certainly not mad at him, an elderly gentleman approached the table.

He winked at my son and said, “I happen to know that God thought that was a great prayer.”

“Really?” my son asked.

“Cross my heart,” the man replied.

Then, in a theatrical whisper, he added (indicating the woman whose remark had started this whole thing), “Too bad she never asks God for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes.”

Naturally, I bought my kids ice cream at the end of the meal. My son stared at his for a moment, and then did something I will remember the rest of my life.

He picked up his sundae and, without a word, walked over and placed it in front of the woman. With a big smile he told her, “Here, this is for you. Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes; and my soul is good already.”



Albert L. Warren

How to give

Give, and it will be given to you (Luke 6:38, NLT).

In this passage, Jesus made an incredible promise: "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you" (Luke 6:48, NIV).

In other words, the Lord promises that the more we give, the more we will get back. That is amazing, but also dangerous. We really have to be on guard about our motivation. Our heart attitude in giving is something that we have to keep a watch on.

Money shows what's really in the givers heart. The intent of the giver makes all the difference in the world. Our motive should not focus on the return, but on our love for the Lord Jesus and our desire to obey Him. If our motives are pure, we know for sure that we'll get a huge return. But if we try to manipulate God through our giving, the law of sowing and reaping is something we'll never experience.

Oswald Chambers in "My Utmost for His Highest," describes the emptiness of Godly-money manipulation: "Our Lord replies in effect, that abandonment is for Himself, and not for what the disciples themselves will get from it. Beware of an abandonment which has the commercial spirit in it... If we only give up something to God because we want more back, there is nothing of the Holy Spirit in our abandonment; it is miserable, commercial self-interest."

Self-interest is empty because it focuses the spotlight on ourselves and away from God. When we give to a ministry because we don't expect a return other than it will further the Kingdom of God, then we'll really see how God rewards us.

I'm worried about a lot of Christian fund-raising efforts that focuses on this giving and receiving principle and tries to get people to give to their ministry with the promise that they will get more back in return. Yes, the principle is a true one, and if the donor's heart is right, they will receive a reward. But if we are not extremely careful in how this is presented we will play upon people's self-interest and cause them to be tempted to greed, and sin.

Personally, I prefer a ministry that needs to be explained, and let the Holy Spirit speak to people about how much, if any, to give. That way, any giving will truly be of the Sprit and there will be no chance of wrong motive. Remember, it's really about what's in the heart that should determine what we give. Love more, give more.

Praying that we all learn to give through love,
Pastor Mike