i need a miracle

I can't count the number of times I have said, "Lord, I need a Miracle", How about you?

"He answered, 'A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign!" (Matt. 12:39)

Now of course there is a huge difference between what Jesus was talking about here, and what I am asking for.  Jesus is talking about people asking for a miracle so that they might believe He is who He says He is.  Me, I already believe and I'm asking for something out of the ordinary.  See the difference.

Scott Thompson used to always say, "If we say we are going to have a time of prayer, we can't even halfway fill a church up, but if we say we gonna make a man's leg grow a foot we can fill the Asheville Civic Center".  There is a lot of truth in that. 

God performs miracles everyday around us.  The sun shining is a miracle in itself.  The air you and i breathe.  The creation all around us.  You yourself are a miracle.  The way the body is put together.  The way the brain works.  Miracle, miracle, miracle, and miracle.  The greatest miracle that God does today is when God transforms a life, when He takes someone and changes their life, their eternal destiny, and uses them for His glory.  That is a miracle.

We undermine and overuse the word "miracle",  If we pull up to the mall and find a front parking spot "it's a miracle", if we make it through a holiday without family members fighting "it's a miracle", if a quarterback goes a whole game without throwing an interception, "it's a miracle", if UNC wins a basketball game "it's a miracle" (through that in for my unc buddies, haha), when the Red Sox won the world series, "it's a miracle" (ok maybe it was), and we made a whole move called "Miracle", when the the US in 1980 won Gold in Men's Hockey.

Ed McMinn wrote, "Jesus knew that miracle don't produce faith, but rather faith produces miracles", think about it.

Have great day, Chris

dead or alive

"Faith by itself, if is not accompanied by action, is dead" (James 2:17)

Very often we are confronted with this idea, is my faith "dead or alive", is it growing or is it dying.

How do you know?

I love the book of James, if I had a favorite book, James would probably be it.  It by far is the most practical book in the New Testament (in my opinion).  James addresses this idea of our faith being "alive or dead", he simply states that Faith alone that doesn't produce anything is dead.

If this is the truth, in the Church of today, there is alot of people with "dead" faith.  Faith that is not alive, breathing, and producing.  What good does faith do us, if it is not producing.  Now don't get me wrong, faith is what we need, faith is what saves us, faith is what sustains us.  However faith should be like an organism.  Living, breathing, moving, acting, and producing.

So the question it boils down to is this:  Is your faith producing something outward in you?  Does your faith motivate you to do something for someone other than yourself?  Has your faith moved you forward?

The good news is Faith that IS "dead", can be revived.  God has the ability to make your faith "alive" and well once again.....all you have to do is ask Him.

Have a wonderful day, and I hope you are worshipping somewhere this mid-week.

love to all, Chris

My memory fails me

My memory fails me, A LOT.  Those of you that know me, know this to be a cold hard fact.  If I know I have to do something on the way home, I put a sticky note on my steering wheel in the car.  People should know by now that if they expect me to remember something, they better tell me to write it down, or they better hand it to me in writing.  Then I have to remember where I put what i wrote down, ugh, it never ends.  I wish my memory was better, I wish it was stronger.

The bad thing is I actually remember things that I DON'T WANT TO, but yet the things I want to remember I CANT.  It's so frustrating.

One of the hardest classes I had in Bible College, was one where I had to memorize scripture every week, oh my gosh, it was a struggle.

Here is my point:  If your memory is like mine it takes a lot of effort, a lot of work.

24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”  25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”  (1 Co 11:24-25, NIV)

I am constantly reminded of my sin, my shortcomings, and my failures.  I am constantly having to remind myself of Christ in my life.  It is a constant battle.

I have to remind myself daily that what I do I do for HIM and not ME. 

Have a wonderful weekend, Chris.

History (should not) repeat itself

Ok so you know there is the saying that the one thing true about History is that it repeats itself, in society this statement is an absolute fact.  However as a Christian this should not be so.

10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
(Ps 143:10, NIV)

I was reading this in my devotion today:

"Learning about anything life requires a combination of education and experience.  Education is the accumulation of facts that we call knowledge; experience is the acquisition of wisdom and discernment, which add purpose and understanding to our knowledge."

We all make mistakes, it's inevitable.  What makes us different is that through the leadership of the Holy Spirit you and I have the power and capability to not repeat our mistakes.  We have to break the chain of bad relationships, people taking advantage, drinking, smoking, cursing, verbal abuse, physical abuse, or whatever it may be that we keep repeating over and over.  You CAN do it, You CAN stop.  Allow God to teach you, Allow yourself to grow, and Allow yourself to stop making the same mistakes over and over.  Learn from it and move on.

Have a great day, Chris.

I forget to laugh

Sometimes I forget to laugh, do you?

The day to day grind, getting the kids homework done, getting supper ready, getting laundry done, and needing to clean the house.  All these things consume the day, and when I lay my head down at night I realize in all of this:  I forgot to laugh today.  How important is that?

"4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance," (Ec 3:4, NIV)

There HAS to be a time to laugh, for my sanity, for your sanity.  So here it is in the "most wonderful time of the year" which also is the most stressful time of the year, and I have to, you have to, make time to "laugh".  Now don't get me wrong we don't need to walk around laughing like blubbering fools, but there has to be a point in every day where we laugh.  It changes the mood, it can turn the day around, it can relieve stress, and I NEED it.

I got the time to weep, time to mourn, time to work part down, how bout you?  The hardest part is getting the time to laugh, time to dance part done.  It's like the weep, mourn, and stress consume us.  So what do we do:  we have to work harder at finding time to laugh, finding time to let go and relax.

I have a group of friends that we have been getting together once a month for the last several months and we eat dinner and we, yep you guessed it, we laugh.  We laugh ALOT, and it's great (thank you Brandy, Jeanne, RAchel, and Brian).  Do you have that?

One of my favorite Christmas movies is "National Lampoons Christmas Vacation", it is the silliest movie ever made, but it makes me laugh.  So enjoy the clip and go ahead and laugh you know you want to:

Have a great day, Love ya, Chris

how to pull of that interview

Isn't having a job interview one of the most nerve racking, gut wrenching, and challenging experiences we go through in life.  I remember in college taking a class that took through the whole process:  Resume and cover letter, dressing for the interview (power suit, power tie, posture, eloquence in speaking, etc.), follow up letter, follow up interview, etc. and on and on.  It's grueling.  Heart pumping as hard as it can go, trying not to fidget around in the chair, clearing your voice so you don't sound like there is a froggie in there, and trying not to sweat (cause you never want to let them see you sweat).  Then you have to try to sell yourself to the company, trying to make them believe that you truly are the best one for the position, and guess what statistics teach that you have to grab there attention within the first one minute, most employers decide within that first 60 seconds whether or not you "make the cut".

I read a survey not too long ago that showed that most people that attend church believe they WILL NOT have to account for their lives, or as my devotion I read today called it "our last great interview".  Scripture does speak to that:

For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat....So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. (Ro 14:10-12, NIV)

Let that resonate for a minute...

One day every single one of us will give an account of himself/herself to God.

Let me make a suggestion, when that time comes and you do have that "last interview", you want to have Jesus Christ as your character witness.  You want Him, You Need Him or trust me:  the interview will not go well.

If you would like to know how to make Jesus your Character witness email me at : revclreese@gmail.com and I will help you.

Have a great day, Chris

Pain Relief

I hate pain.  Sounds redundant doesn't it, because I am sure we all do.  I have broke my wrist, ruptured a disk, ruptured another 7 months after the first one, and passed several kidney stones.  I know pain, and I hate it.  There is a pain that goes beyond physical, there is emotional pain.

Have you ever had a best friend stab you in the back?
Have you ever had a person in a relationship cheat on you?
Have you ever been lied to?
Have you ever been abused?
Have you ever been made fun of?
the list could go on.... and on.

The thing that we need to realize is that Jesus came to set us free, even from emotional pain.  He can identify with all of the above, think about it.

Judas betrayed him (best friend stab in back), we commit spiritual adultery every day (cheat on you), we have lied to him, He was abused by the soldiers and religious leaders, and Jesus was made fun of over and over (and still is by the way).

So what does that mean to us?  the answer is found in scripture:

5 For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.
(2 Co 1:5, NIV)

It means in every aspect of our lives that we have suffered (or are in pain) Jesus understands, He has been there, He can empathize, and He can comfort.  He is there, His waiting, He is wanting to ease your pain and comfort you in your time of need, will you let Him.

have a blessed day, Chris