Carl Thomas dot net

New for 2010

I did not make any new years resolutions this year.  But right around the turn of the calendar I decided to make some changes.  Some are bigger than others, and at least one is a carry over from last year.  But I thought I would share a few.

bye bye facebook.
I decided that facebook is a tremendous waste of time.  I so not plan to delete my facebook account because it is a means of communication for many of the people I pastor.  But I don’t plan to mindlessly scroll through status updates any longer.  I hide so many people I wound up looking at the same half dozen folks anyway.  Status updates get posted through a 3rd party service so folks will still see status updates.  I just wont see theirs as often.

I also deleted the facebook app from my blackberry.  When I was bored I would fire it up.  Funny thing happened.  When it got deleted, my bible app slipped onto the default screen.

the bible
For the first time in my life I am going to do a one year bible reading plan.  The folks at YouVersion have great one year bible apps you can access through your smart phone.  You can mark off chapters as you go, comment on verses, tweet from the reading and all other kinds of useless stuff.

the blog
I really felt like it was time for me to return to writing about revival in general and what I see in my ministry specifically.  The last few years I have blogged more about church planting but I have begun to write more about the manifestation of the Holy Ghost as I minister.  At some point I will write books.  On what I don’t know.  I am thinking one of the first will be a treatise on how REESE’S Peanut Butter Cups can be incorporated into a Daniel fast but I don’t have all the dots connected yet.  I think it has something to do with the wheel within a wheel.

the house
I have put a bunch of stuff off “till later.”  I realized that later comes when I decide it has come.  Home improvement season is coming.  On the same note I am going to have a little oral surgery today.  Its time.

more direct
Lots of times I wait for people to “get it.”  Some never do.  I am going to just tell people some times.

the anointing
Full steam ahead.  This generation does not need another religious festival.  They don’t need new forms of entertainment.  They don’t need ritual.  They need a life changing touch from the Holy Ghost. I plan to be more of a conduit of that this year.

The Struggle is Futile

I sometimes watch people think they are in a struggle with God when they are really in a struggle with themselves.

I wrestle with my kids.  I never make them feel that their fight is futile.  I play along.  I let them think there is a struggle happening.  I play it up and make loud noises and feign surprise at their tactics.  We have fun.  But if they had to go to the bathroom, I would immediately relent.  If I had to go to the bathroom I would break free, get up and walk.

Because in the end, there never really was a struggle.

I see people do the same thing with God.

They act as if the Creator is in some sort of power struggle against them for their will.  For most people, they are not fighting God, they are fighting wisdom.  They are fighting inevitable forces.  They are fighting the law of seed time and harvest.  For their efforts they might as well be trying to stop the sunrise or hold back the tide.

Oh you cause some ripples but the water is rising.

Psalm 46 says

The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.

There is no struggle happening.  Here is my Saturday night word of advice.  Stop being stupid.  Give up the struggle.  Enter into His rest.

See you in church tomorrow.

Build an Altar on Your Greatest Failures

The temple in Israel is built atop one of God’s greatest acts of mercy.  David sinned against God by conducting a survey instead of trusting Him.  In turn God sent an angel to bring judgment.

Right there, atop Mt Moriah God stopped the angel and the death ended right after David repented.

Most people would build a monument to the dead and live in the shame of their sins forever.  They would wear the failure forever.

David was instructed to build an altar there instead.

From that day forward, that place was celebrated as a place of God’s mercy.  His mercy triumphs over judgment.  Maybe your failures deserve judgment.  Here is how you deal with it.  Build an altar to God on top of that failure and tell everyone how God’s mercy triumphed.

Tips for the New Year: Sorrow Vs Forgiveness

I spoke to someone I have not heard from in over a decade the other day.  The last time I saw him I was at another place in life.  I judged him because of what he was dealing with outwardly not recognizing the sin of judgment I was dealing with inwardly.

We finally reconnected and talked on the phone for a long time just catching up on what has transpired in our lives.  It was a great conversation.

At the end I apologized for specific transgressions against him and asked for his forgiveness.  He told me that it was all in the past.  But it wasn’t and there was only one way to make it right.

Lots of people say that they are sorry, but don’t ask for forgiveness.  Lots of people feel sorry about their sins.  Not a lot of people ask Jesus to forgive them for those transgressions and that is what is required for salvation.

So I asked my friend for forgiveness again.  I needed to hear him say that I was forgiven because if he didn’t, I needed to know what I needed to do to make things right.

This year, don’t blame other people for your issues with other people.  Find out what it will take for you to make them right.

Guard Your Reputation

A funny thing happens after a person falls.  Once they repent God instantly forgives them.  But their position among men is not easily restored.  There are lots of reasons why that should and should not happen but the fact of the matter is that once your reputation is tarnished, it takes time to get it back.

The Bible says that a good name is to be chosen rather than great riches.  Why?  Because your good name gives you credibility.  When you lend your name to something it takes on your reputation.

If you are on a ministry team and everyone knows you are in sin, people no longer respect the team.  Even those who are walking with God are no longer trusted because the people know the team is not practicing what they preach.

People say that if you worry what people think about you it is pride.  But I would say that having a goal to be seen as a righteous person is a godly pursuit if your goal is to use your influence to draw people closer to God.

In 2010, seek to be a person of godly influence.

Praying In the New Year

When I see major events happen in my life, the life of The Mission, or in our nation, I like to see if God may be speaking through it.

Last year I set ear toward God and He revealed some pretty amazing things for 2009.  All of them came to pass.  I will be doing the same this year.

Again, I am not going to do some sort of religious thing.  I am just going to set some time apart to pray and keep my heart open for His voice.  If I hear something I will know what to watch for and how to pray the coming year.

Thoughts on Redemption

As believers, we have great powers, but God still holds power in His hands.  Jesus said that we can forgive sins.  But only His blood can wash them away.  As mature believers, we can restore a fallen brother or sister, but only Jesus can redeem their soul.

Through honor, I can redeem your gifts and talents.  If I have caused you to sin I can redeem the relationship by acting righteously.  By blessing you I can redeem your self-image.

But you can only be redeemed to God through repentance of sins and faith in Christ.

Michael Jackson and Oral Roberts

Michael Jackson dropped Thriller right before my 12th birthday.  I grew up on R&B and remember Off the Wall before that.  When Thriller was big, it was really big.  The singles played everywhere.  Folks wore parachute pants, wanted that stupid looking zipper jacket and allowed the jeri curl to not be mocked for several more years.

Yeah, we gave him a pass in the Beat It video when he tried to look hard because the song was so tight.  Remember when he did that moonwalk then spun to his toes on that tribute to Barry Gordy?  He did that so well that to this day people think he invented the moonwalk (he didn’t).

Mikey started to believe his own videos and put out his next album Bad.  Gangsta rap jacked the heart of the young urban crowd by this time and he was trying to get a piece.  The video from the title track was a little strange.  Did Michael Jackson think someone would be intimidated by him?  The background singers sing, “Bad, bad.  Really really bad.”  It’s enough to make you laugh.

By this time Eazy-E, Public Enemy, 2 Live Crew were rockin the 12″ Cerwin Vegas in the back of my Rabbit.  Paid in Full by Eric B and Rakim, BAD by LL Cool J, Rhyme Pays by Ice T, Criminal Minded by Boogie Down Productions were all in heavy rotation in my tape deck.

And there was Michael Jackson lookin angry but weird.

When he died recently the world swooned.  They talked of his philanthropy, his sales records, his talents, his fame.  They glossed over the drug abuse, the sex abuse charges, his obsession with plastic surgery, and his narcissism.  For the moment, they wanted to remember the good in the man’s tragic life.  In a massive celebrity show, his funeral was broadcast the world over so folks could pour their hearts out in gratitude.   I even saw an interview with rappers of that earlier era giving props to MJJ.

Fast forward to the death of Oral Roberts.  The man spent more than six decades in full time Gospel ministry.  Traveled the world telling people that Jesus Christ was the way to the Father.  He let folks know that God is a good God, that He is a healing God, and that He did not want people live a life of misery.  He built a ministry and a university to honor God.

In 1952 Oral announced God told him he could win a million souls in the next 36 months.  He did it in 30.  And he was just getting started.  That was the life he lived.  I can’t imagine what it was like to be a part of his ministry organization in its heyday.  The man was blazing a trail.  He stretched out his arm to heal so many people that he wore out his rotator cuff and had to have it repaired in his later years.   People would come from far and wide to see God perform miracles through the hands of His servant.

Last night I watched a synopsis of his memorial service on his son Richard’s tv show.  I gotta tell you, it was amazing.  Time and again the speakers would say that Oral was not perfect.  They made reference to the problems detractors had with his theology and they kept coming back to the fact that Oral Roberts did what he thought God would have him do.

Why did they have to keep bringing up the negatives?  Because Christians can’t imagine someone they don’t fully agree with getting any love from the world.  Every single article I have read gives a quote from a Christian minister detailing their offense as if the New York Times or Washington Post was interested in doctrinal purity.  No, they are interested in seeing Christians slandering other Christians so they can help them secure their trip to hell.

Wake up church.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,  so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 5:43-45

Remember the Vision

Every now and then I read books I have read before and watch videos I have seen before.  It is easy to let the fire that drives you die down.  The best way to avoid it is to keep stoking the flames.  I have watched this video a couple hundred times since I first saw it years ago.

Let the Holy Ghost stir your heart as you watch it.

Thoughts on Godly Marriage

Thoughts on a godly marriage out of 1 Cor 7

1. A Godly Marriage is a Source of Pleasure
   You need to reject the lie that marriage is a source of strife. There is no replacement for the companionship of a marriage.
2. A Godly Marriage Resists the Attack of the Devil
   Resist the urge to ignore the issues in your marriage. The devil wants to steal the desire for intimacy so he can come in through that open door. Your marriage is your first ministry. Keep it tight.
3. A Godly Marriage is a Place of Service
   Wives are to submit to their husbands as unto the Lord because the husbands are supposed to love their wives as Christ loved the church. Fellas, don’t ever quote this Scripture unless you are laying down your life for your wife.
4. A Godly Marriage is a Covenant
   You are going to enter into two covenants in this lifetime. The first is with God through His sacrifice on the cross, thus becoming part of his Body. The second through your marriage commitment making husband and wife one flesh. It’s a big deal. It is supposed to be.