Make a difference, NOT MY LIFE

Maybe you are like me, sometimes I just feel like I am going through life and not really making a difference at anything.  We can minister in our churches, or we do our jobs, raise our families, but sometimes if you are like me, you ask the question "Is this all there is?"

Recently, we went and saw a documentary on human trafficking, NOT MY LIFE.  Human trafficking is one of the greatest crimes against humanity and it is growing everyday.  In fact, they said they are only helping .001% of those who are caught up in human trafficking.  One woman involved in rescue efforts said that for every 10 girls they help on a given day,  20 more girls got caught up in human trafficking that same day.  Oklahoma has one of the largest human trafficking areas in the United States. 

Upon hearing that only .001% of those who are taken into human trafficking are rescued worldwide, I asked myself if it was really worth it.  But then I realized that if they only reach one woman, man, or child, at least they are making a difference to somebody.  If only one life was changed by being rescued from exploitation, it is worth everything they are doing. 

I was reminded of a story I read in Pastor Craig Groeschel's book WEIRD.  It is called Every Starfish Matters (page 214).   It goes like this… A young boy was frantically picking up stranded starfish and throwing them back into the ocean.  Now there were hundreds if not thousands of starfish all over the beach.  An older gentleman saw this you boy picking up the starfish and throwing them back into the ocean.  And said hey their youngster; you shouldn’t waste your time with the starfish.  There’s to many of them.  You’ll never make a difference.  Looking up at the old gentleman, the boy picked up a starfish and hurled it into the ocean.  And he said I made a difference to that one!  And he continued on with his mission.

That's what got me.  A story about starfish.  You will never make a difference until you believe in something.  The youngster in this story believed that his actions made a difference for the starfish.  The story says that he "continued on with his mission".  In the documentary, NOT MY LIFE, a man involved in rescue efforts in the United States said that the statistics did not discourage him.  ( .001% )  He stated that those numbers just gave him reason to work that much harder.  That there are more lives out there that can be reached, one at a time.  Just like the starfish.

Rescuing those enslaved by human trafficking may not be your calling.  I have come to realize that we can only do what we are called to do. And I am not called to do everything, but I am called to something. So, I just have to settle the issue that I can make a difference right where I am at, doing what God called me to do.
But I do know that everyone is called to something.  I just want to encourage you to find out what God wants you to do and do it with all your might.  Make a difference one life at a time.


Oklahomans Against Human Trafficking has upcoming fundraisers that you can be a part of. 
If you would like to know more about human trafficking you can contact Oklahomans Against Human Trafficking (OATH).    To find out more about NOT MY LIFE, visit http://notmylife.org/.

the change in me

So have you ever been asked these questions-
How do you know Jesus is real?
How do you know the bible is true?
 I'm sure we have all heard these questions asked and have heard the same old answer; I know that Jesus is real because he lives in my heart. Or, The bible is true because look at all the prophecies that have been fulfilled. I really don’t have any problem with these answers and I am by know means a theologian. But I would like to give you my answer on how I know that Jesus is real and the bible is true.

I was recently preaching at a church in Nowata, Oklahoma, and I was telling the church where and when I gave my life to Jesus. I can still remember it clearly. The day was January 8, 1984.  I was at Beams of Light Tabernacle in Tulsa, Oklahoma. That was the day I gave my life to Christ.  It was more than just saying the sinner’s prayer.  It was a life-changing event.  I truly was transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of Light. (Col 1:13)  I became a new creature in Christ.  (2Cor 5:17) and I have been serving the Lord since.

So I can look at my life and see that a change happened.  I didn’t turn over a new leaf or just change on my own.  Jesus changed my life.  He was the difference.  I began reading and applying the Word of God to my life and more changes came.   I can say from the moment I prayed that prayer, that there was a change in me.  A desire to follow Him and allow the old me to pass away.  It was more than just a prayer, but the prayer marked the beginning of change.

Can praying the sinner’s prayer be a real sign of salvation?  I have seen many people pray a prayer for salvation, but it seems that there was no real life change or zeal for the things of God.  Now I know that it probably works different for each person, but shouldn’t there at least be some evidence?  Real salvation means you are in a new kingdom, you are a new person.

How do I know that Jesus is real and the Bible is true?  I just have to look at my life and see the results and changes it has made in me.

Imitation

1Cor 11:1
Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.

1Cor 4: 15-16
For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. Therefore I urge you, imitate me.


Don’t worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you. - Robert Fulghum


I just wanted to take a minute and brag on my daughter if I could. A few weeks ago, our niece was attacked by a pit bull. She is recovering and is going to be just fine. But it was what my daughter did that morning that I want to brag about today.

After finding out the news about our niece, my wife was preparing breakfast and I was reading the newspaper on the Ipad (which is cool by the way). We began to hear our daughter praying about the situation and that our niece (her cousin) would be ok. She prayed out loud for several minutes, asking God for a very specific outcome. She prayed for the doctors who would be performing surgery. She prayed for her cousin, the wound, her healing, the family. She prayed on and on making her requests known to our Father.

I was really proud of my daughter right then. What we do makes a difference on our kids. We are not perfect parents, and have probably made a lot of mistakes along the way, but we purpose ourselves to teach our daughter about God. We also make an effort to be in church on a weekly basis. Children learn early in life by imitation. We make an effort to be examples in our home. My daughter sees us read the bible regularly and spend time in prayer.

This has once again impressed upon me that it is not so much what we say that makes a difference, but what we do. And it is when we see our kids doing what we do, then its time to be proud!

4th of July

On the 4th of July to celebrate the birth of our nation and the great freedom that we experience. Let us not forget that we also need to pray for our great nation.

2Chron 7:14
If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Prayer for Our Nation (unknown origin)
"Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, ‘woe to those who call evil good,’ but that is exactly what we have done.

We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values…
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery…
We have rewarded the laziness and called it welfare…
We have killed our unborn and called it choice…
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable…
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem…
We have abused power and called it politics…
We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called in ambition…
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression…
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment…
Search us, Oh God, and know our heart’s today; cleanse us from every sin and Set us free. Amen!”