My new prayer for my life.

Have you ever stumbled on to a verse before that you have probably read a thousand times but never knew it was there? That’s what happened today. I was blown away by this one verse that I really never knew existed. I had read this chapter before, multiple times, and you probably have too. If I told you it was the longest chapter in the Bible would you know where I was reading? More than likely you would, but if I asked you to recite me Psalm 119:20, could you? I couldn’t either until just a little bit ago, when God put a new prayer in my heart for my life. Psalm 119:20 in the NCV says this, "I wear myself out with desire for your laws all the time".

There were two things that got me when I read this one verse. The phrases “wear myself out”, and “all the time”. Let’s take a look at our lives for just a second. There is a lot of stuff that we do for fun, for money, for family, or for friends that wear us out. We go to the lake all day and get scorched and wear ourselves out tubing and fishing, but its fun! We wear ourselves out helping a family member move. We will pack for days and then pack all night before they leave and then go help unload all the mess that they had. We wear ourselves out working to provide for our families. We want them to have the best of the best and we will almost work ourselves to death trying to get them the things they want. We wear ourselves out almost every day, but do we wear ourselves out wanting more of God?

The Psalmist’s desire to know more of the commands of God wore on him until he was completely worn out. The Psalmist was so overcome by the desire to know more about God that he had no more strength left to do anything. WOW! That to me says a whole lot about who this Psalmist was; and it also says a whole lot about you and me. Where has our longing for God gone? When will we ever step back up to the plate and be a leader like this Psalmist?

But that’s not all! Look at the second phrase that caught my attention. “All the time”. When have you ever thought about one thing “all the time”? There are not many things in this life that I can truly say that I think about all the time. The number one thing I think about all the time is, Me! I mean you are going to take care of yourself, right? When you are thirsty, you will get yourself something to drink. The same thing goes for when you are hungry; you will get some kind of food to eat. The other thing I think about all the time is my wife. She never leaves my mind. Her wellbeing is at the front of my mind. Being the husband my main concern is making sure she has all she needs. But you take one look at my life and you will see that God is not something that is on my mind “all the time”. What do you see when you look at yours? Is He on your mind all the time? Why shouldn’t He be at the forefront of our minds every day? After the price that He paid to set us all free from the bondage of sin, doesn’t that deserve some thought?

“Father I love you and you deserve more of me. Help me every day to wear myself out in Your word. Help me to have You on my mind all the time. Make me the person that You want me to be. Help me to be more like this Psalmist, so I can share You with more people that I come in contact with.”

"My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it." Clarence Budington Kelland

I know it is a couple of days late but I wanted to tell you a little bit more about how I feel about you, Dad. I know we talked on Father’s Day and I told you how great of a father you were but I wanted to write and tell you a little more.

Dad I believe this quote says it all, "My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it". I remember when people always used to say, “you look so much like your dad”, “you sound just like your dad”, “you remind me so much of your dad when he was your age”. All of these quotes used to make me squirm. I didn’t want to look, sound, or be like my dad; you were old!! Hahaha! I didn’t realize it then but I do now.

If I only have one wish now it is to be just like you Dad because you are just like our Father. You didn’t tell me what to do growing up but you lived out how you wanted me to live. You showed me the way. You walked the talk. I can think of a lot of great memories we had while I was growing up. I will never forget you teaching me how to fish. I will never forget the time at Lake Eufaula when I caught that big bass right next to the camper. All I remember you saying is just keep on casting and maybe he will bite. What was the likelihood of me catching that fish? He could see everything I did. There was no way that he was going to bite. You could have told me that, but you didn’t. And because you didn’t, I kept throwing until he finally took the bait.  I remember all the time you spent throwing with me in the backyard. All the waffle balls you threw so I could hit. I remember all the times that I was down after a game, but you would explain that it was just a game. In all actuality that game didn’t mean anything. It was the way I played the game. It was the way I represented Christ to the players and the fans. I remember so many things and I remember you showing me how to be a man. A man that wasn’t afraid to express his feelings. A man that wasn’t afraid to say when he was wrong. A man that walked and talked the way Christ would have. I remember all of those things growing up. I never really knew how much I was watching the way you lived until now.

The thing I am thankful for the most is the way that you showed me how to love my wife. Ephesians 5:25-31 says “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church—for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”

Dad you showed me how to love a woman the way Christ loves the church. You showed me how to be unselfish, caring, loving, and grateful. You love mom so much, and I saw that, and it made me understand that she was a part of you and you had to take care of her the same way you took care of yourself. The husband that you are to mom has made me the husband I am today. I learned all of that from the way that you lived your life. And I hope one day that my life will show my kids the way that they are supposed to live. Not according to me but according to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Thanks for being a great dad and thanks for showing me how to live a life that pleases God. I love you and miss you!

“And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.” Col. 1:10

"If you have a mom, there is nowhere you are likely to go where a prayer has not already been." Robert Brault

This is an open letter to my mom, Darlene Bradley, who lives in Enterprise, AL.

I just want to tell you how much I love you. I know you have not been felling well the past couple of days and I am praying that God touches you in a powerful way. I wish I could be near you so I could get you some sprite and some chicken noodle soup just like you used to do for me. I wish I could be at church with you this Sunday to give you a hug and a kiss, and tell you that you are the greatest mother anyone could ever ask for. I wish I could just sit and spend the afternoon with you. We could sit and watch a movie and eat some dirt cake (man I love your dirt cake!). I wish we only lived right down the street again, but we don’t, and I can’t spend the afternoon with you or hug and kiss you this Sunday. I can’t do that because the Bible tells me "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it" Proverbs 22:6. You have trained me to be a follower of Jesus Christ, and I am trying my best every day. God has sent me across a couple of states and therefore I can’t just tell you all of this that I am writing. God has sent me to minister to a different crowd, but I would have never heard the call if it were not for you bringing me up and teaching me to listen for it.

I was talking with a guy here the other day and I want to tell you what he said to me. He said, “I see the strong faith that you have, and I wish I could have had that when I was your age.” That reminds me of a verse in scripture; 2 Timothy 1:5, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.”

That faith the man saw would have never been there if it were not for you. Thank you for always teaching me who God is and how to follow Him with all my heart.

Thanks for showing me how to work. You always got up and went to work every morning and you worked all day and most of the night. You were always on the job. Your work was a never ending roller coaster ride with A and me. There are so many things I need to say thanks for but I'll end with this one; thanks for teaching me to love God. I've seen you pour your heart out to God in your morning devotions and in our home and on the street and even in situations where I didn’t even see why you kept the faith. I knew, each time, that your zeal for God was real. I could see that God had a hold on your life and he would not let you go. And I could see that no matter how difficult things became, He was always your source of strength and inspiration. Thanks for showing me that no matter what trials or struggles that I go through, God can handle each one.

I could go on and on listing things that you have done for me but I want to tell you one more thing. The verse that I was reminded of, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.”

I am blessed to have a mother that would show me how to have faith and I want you to know that one day when you have little grandchildren, I pray that you will remember that their faith is only because of what you taught me. I can't wiat to past down the love of God to my children, and I will be sure to tell them how I learned to have the faith that I do.

Mom, one of my greatest desires is to be like you because you are so much like Him. I love you. I'm proud to be your son. Happy Mother's Day!

“Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory! For the Wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.” Revelation 19:7

My beautiful wife and I have been married now for 2 years. Our anniversary was March 21st and I have just been amazed at how much more I love her each and every day. I think about the times that she is asleep on the couch and I can’t take my eyes off of her. I think about all the times that we laugh together (most of the time it is because I have done something stupid, but we still laugh together anyway). I think about all the times that we don’t even want to go out of the house; we just want to sit and enjoy our time that we have with each other. I think about how far our relationship has grown with each other and with Jesus Christ in the past two years.

That thought leads me back to our wedding day. We chose not to see each other before our wedding in our “fancy clothes”. We wanted it to be a surprise and we wanted to cherish the moment that would bring for the rest of our lives. All I can keep thinking about is the time when my groomsmen and I were standing in the front of the church right before the bride comes down the aisle. I was nervous, excited, scared, and every other emotion that you can think of. I was just a ball of nerves. It was the moment of truth. It was the moment that we both had been waiting for. It was the first time that I would see my wife in her wedding gown. Now I will tell you right now that I knew my wife was the most gorgeous woman on the face of the planet but that moment blew me away. She and her dad rounded the corner and came into view and I could hardly catch my breath. It was the most amazing moment of the whole day for me. I thought about all the times that she went shopping for the dress until she could find the perfect one. I thought about all the time that it took for her to get ready. I can just imagine her sitting in front of the mirror putting on her makeup. I can imagine her getting her hair fixed. I know that she was thinking that everything had to be perfect before she could walk down that aisle, and let me tell you it was perfect!

The Bible compares the relationship of Jesus and His church to that of a Bride and Groom. We, the church of Jesus Christ are the Bride, and Jesus is the Bridegroom. The book in the Bible, “Song of Solomon”, is one of the greatest pictures of the bride-groom relationship. In chapter one verse 15 the bridegroom says “How beautiful you are, my darling. How very beautiful! Your eyes are like doves.” In verse sixteen the bride responds, “How handsome you are, my love. How delightful!” You see just as a bride and groom desire a relationship with each other that is both intimacy and passion, Jesus desires that same relationship with His bride. He wants that same kind of lasting relationship with us. Ephesians 5:25 says “Husbands love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her to make her holy, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word.”

I stop here and I think back to my wedding. I promised to love my wife with all of my heart no matter what. I promised to love her just as Christ loved His church. I fail everyday in that aspect, but I love her more and more and I never stop trying. Jesus Christ never gave up on me. All the times that He could have, and should have walked away from me, He didn’t. We go through life never thinking about the great “Wedding Day”. We hardly ever think about the magnitude of Jesus’ promise He has given us in the promise of His never-ending love. He loves us so much because one day He wants to bring us ALL back to Him. In verse 27 we see God’s desire for us. “He did this to present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless.”

My wife spent so much time getting herself perfect for our wedding day. She wanted to look as good as she possibly could. She wanted to present herself to me “in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless.”

We can only present ourselves to God without spot or wrinkle if we have the intimate and passionate relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus said in John14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” I pray that you make the decision to say yes when Jesus asks you for your hand in marriage. I hope that you have a place at the table that He has gone ahead to prepare for His bride.

“Thanks Shiann, my wonderful and beautiful wife, for loving me for who I am. Thanks for accepting all of my faults and loving me anyway. Thanks for being my backbone as we go through this life of ministry together. I couldn’t do any of this without you. You are the best wife that any man could ever ask for and I pray that I can present myself to Christ like you presented yourself to me. I can’t wait for that moment of truth when we turn the corner and see Him in all of His glory for the first time! It is going to be awesome to run into the arms of our Savior and King together and tell Him how great and mighty He really is! You are the best and I love you more and more each and every day I spend by your side. Thanks for loving me!”

"The home should be a self-contained shelter of security; a kind of school where life’s basic lessons are taught; and a kind of church where God is honored." Billy Graham

I stopped for a little while the other day and thought about the impact that I could have on the kids in my community. I really thought about how much I could impact their lives for Christ. I started looking at the times that I am around them. I spend about 2 hours with them on Wednesday nights teaching and telling them about the love of God. I go to their lunches about once a week and spend about 30 minutes with them. I go to some of their softball, baseball, and football games, and I do some of the devotionals at their schools for about 10-15 minutes. Then I asked myself this question: “How can I make the impact that is needed in the lives of these kids if I only get to spend about 3-4 hours a week with them?” There are 168 hours in a week and I can only spend about 3-4 hours with them! Where do they spend the rest of their time? I know they spend 8 hours for 5 days a week at school but that is only 40 hours a week. Teenagers today can spend anywhere from 100-128 hours a week at home. So my next question was how can I offset what they are being taught for 128 hours in 3 hours? I can’t; but, parents, you and God can. The Bible has told us how we are to reach the youth in today’s society. It is not by sending them to church for a few hours a week. It is not letting the school system teach your kid what is right and wrong. It is not having conversations with your kids and never bringing up the name of Jesus.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 says “The Lord our God is the only Lord. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. Always remember these commands I give you today. Teach them to your children, and talk about them when you sit at home and walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them down and tie them to your hands as a sign. Tie them on your forehead to remind you, and write them on your doors and gates.”

God repeated these commandments over and over because they are so important. God wants parents to teach His commands to their children. He not only wants but commands them to teach it. It is the responsibility of the parent to teach who God is and what He commands us to do and the way He wants us to live. This requires more than just sending them to church. It requires the parent going to church with them. It requires spending time with your children daily telling them about Jesus Christ.

“Never underestimate the ponderings of a Christian parent. Never underestimate the power that comes when a parent pleads with God on behalf of a child. Who knows how many prayers are being answered right now because of the faithful ponderings of a parent ten or twenty years ago? God listens to thoughtful parents. Praying for our children is a noble task. If what we are doing, in this fast-paced society, is taking us away from prayer time for our children, we’re doing too much. There is nothing more special, more precious than that time that a parent spends struggling and pondering with God on behalf of a child. It’s not too late for the child who has brought only tears. Think of Jesus’ parents; the mother who had to watch her son crucified saw her son raised from the dead. Though you may go to the grave wondering if your prayers will ever be answered, don’t stop praying. God blesses faithfulness.” (From the Inspirational Bible, “Parents”)

“You were intended to live in your Father’s house. Any place less than His is insufficient. Any place far from His is dangerous. Only the home built for your heart can protect your heart. And your Father wants you to dwell in Him.” Max Lucado

Parents let you home be filled with the words, commands, and love of Jesus. Teach your kids who God wants them to be. Spend time with them teaching them in the ways of God and modeling for them a Christ-centered lifestyle. Pray for your children daily. Pray that they will know and follow the one and only true God. Let’s start changing the world for Christ, one home at a time.

“Thanks mom and dad for showing me how to live and love like Christ; by showing me the love that He has through the love that you have and gave to me. I love you, and I thank God everyday for the Christian home that you made for me. Thanks for trusting in God and teaching me how to live a life that would be pleasing to Him. You’re the best parents anyone could ever ask for!”

Have We Been Sold Half Of The Gospel?

Okay first off I want to give you a little disclosure before I go into what has been on my mind lately. I am going to get on a topic that most of you probably will question to start with. I want to be up front and say that it is okay for you to feel that way. I do want to ask that you don’t stop reading this post before you get all the way done. Please be patient and have an open mind about what I am saying.

Have we been sold half of the gospel? I want to tell you one of the biggest lies in the church in today’s time. Yes I did say “lie in the church”. I am not talking about lost people or people who claim there is no God; I am talking about Christians who go to church every time the doors are opened.

As a kid, most of us grew up with our parents telling us that whatever we wanted to be we could be. Whatever we put our minds to we can accomplish it. No offense to any parents who have told their kids that, including mine, but that is what the church is preaching now too and it is the biggest lie that could ever be taught in church!

 How many of you have a consistent time alone with God everyday to read His word? How many of you have consistently been seeking God’s kingdom first and not what you want? How many of you have been the best Christian that God could ever ask for? How many of you, ever since the day you were saved, have been chasing after God and have never had any rough days where you just didn’t feel like living the Christian life? I hope that we all see that the answer to these questions is none. No one, if you would be honest, can say that you have lived a life that God could be proud of. How many of you have come to a point in your life where you told God that the last time you committed a certain sin would be your last time committing that sin? Christians have come up with a word to describe that: Rededication. You have come to the point where you want to rededicate your life to Christ and tell him that you will do better and you won’t commit that sin again and a week later you come back to God to rededicate your rededication, and the process starts all over. The statement “you can do it” does not work. You can’t do it. You’re not powerful enough, you’re not good enough, you don’t have the willingness to do what it takes to overcome those sins, but God does.

Colossians 1:25-27 reads “²⁵ I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— ²⁶ the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. ²⁷ To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Why do I think there are so many people teaching half of the gospel? Because it says so in this passage of scripture! I will also get to another point that makes this statement a little bit clearer later. Look at verse 25. Paul said that he was commissioned by God “to present to you the word of God in its fullness”. If some were not preaching half of the gospel then why would Paul write this? Paul explains that there is a “mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people.” It had been kept from Moses, Noah, Abraham, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, but now it has been made known to us. The Bible tells us that God wanted to make a mystery or secret known to us.

So what is the secret? Eric what can you tell me that will make me get to a point in my life where I can have only one rededications instead of ten or twenty? What is the secret? Let me ask you one more question before we get to that secret. How many of you right now can tell me, without looking it up in your Bible, what Romans 3:23 says? Most of you probably would say “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and you would be half right. And you are probably saying no Eric that is all of verse 23. It is but what punctuation do you see there? Most of us know this verse and we put our own period there but it is not a period it is a comma. You see most people teach that we are all sinners saved by grace. They say that everyone is a sinner and there is no way to help ourselves and not sin, and this is how the statement looks when we say it: “We are all sinners saved by grace.” People teach that we can’t help ourselves and stop ourselves from sinning so we might as well just live life and sin because “We are all sinners”…and oh we are also “saved by grace”. Our focus is always on us being sinners not on us being saved by grace.

The secret of Christianity is in verse 24 or the last part of verse 23 after the comma. The mystery and the whole gospel is after the comma. “And all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Jesus himself is the secret!! There is no, I, in your rededication prayer; there is only Jesus Christ. The secret is that it is not Jesus Christ AND you fighting against the devil and sin, it is Jesus Christ IN you that break the bonds of sin.

To understand the whole gospel, or as Paul put it the gospel “in its fullness”, you have to understand that there is no “you can do it”. You can’t do it. You can’t beat sin, you can’t overcome this world, you can’t break through the bondage, and you can’t do anything apart from God. The only way you can do anything is letting Jesus Christ be IN you. That’s the secret. Galatians 2:20 says “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. Jesus Christ gave Himself for us to help us overcome every obstacle we run into, but the only way He can help is if He lives in you and through you. Grasp the whole gospel today and understand that only through Christ, and not through yourself, can you overcome the temptations of this world.

How are you really showing God that your worship is pure?

There was a church in Germany that sat next to a railroad track that was being used to transport Jews to the Nazi death camps. The members of the church would gather each Sunday morning to worship. During their time of worship they began to notice the sounds of the wheels rolling along the railway. As they listened closer they realized that the sounds they were hearing were the pleas and cries of those who filled the railway cars.

At first they attempted to ignore the screams each Sunday morning but their consciences would not let them rest. The minister devised a plan. When they began to hear the cries, he would motion the organist to begin to play and they would sing as loudly as they could. They drowned out the cries of the oppressed with songs of praise to God.

Can you imagine? What hypocrisy? Who would do such a thing in the name of Jesus? I might. I might go to church and study the scripture and sing out my praise and ignore the cries of the lost and the broken that are just beyond the doors of the sanctuary. I might know that $35 dollars would feed, house, cloth, and educate a child for a month in a third world country and yet leave worship and go to a nice restaraunt and spend $50 dollars on myself and my family for one meal. I have.

"God, help me not to try to soothe my mind with more worship when I know that what you require is my obedience to your mission. Amen"

"The Lord has put his Spirit in me, because he appointed me to tell the Good News to the poor. He has sent me to tell the captives they are free and to tell the blind that they can see again. God sent me to free those who have been treated unfairly and to announce the time when the Lord will show his kindness." Luke 4.18,19