"'Be careful,' Jesus warned them. 'Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.'" Mark 8:15
Why not be forgiven first? Why not serve well in this Land or in our Government? Why not point out the leaven of big corrupt Government ..to the Government? There's a place and time for informed, prayerful, and wise civil disobedience. Duh.
Do hearts ever become satisfied with their destructive ways ..anywhere? Naw. Ain't happened yet.
Not sure of all the bad laws here. Bad laws could eventually change without any bad hearts ever being changed. Lots could change without hearts being regenerated for the good. But we have the ultimate Solution and willing hearts can still be changed. Politics aren't the solution--we've got messed up politicians on both sides of the equation really. Christ forgives. He alone can change our hearts -- He is the ultimate Solution for every nation and every person.
I just expressed... Never doubt nor underestimate the deep resolve of loyal American people. You know there are many!
Think about it. No words are needed really; each one understands the practical mission at hand.. to help and protect their loved ones. To win people too.
Be careful,' Jesus warned them. 'Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.
Right now in every state, in every village, country hamlet, beach town, big city and on even out on the streets.. the so called #MAGA community (which really is committed to making this nation a great big-hearted Land that's ready to bless other peoples too..) is independently rallying to the exact same standard without any famous person or idol needing to show up. Who needs em to?
Americans are used to the world calling us rebels and other names too. We laugh, so childish. That has happened here in several other decades before. No big deal.
Q. Why not wisely, properly yes righteously REBELL against all the complete weirdness, wrong, perversion of ideas and practice etc.. that "tolerant" Liberals with their Social and 98% of the Media.. keep pushin' on you and the masses? With upbeat attitude there is a way.
Q. Who has been pressurin' you to go against what you know in your heart to be right for you..for your fam? Hey, read about..go see what Daniel (6:10-28) did under similar circumstances. He caught gobs of pressure from way high up back in his day too. Didn't bow. https://seenations.tumblr.com .. https://urbaane.tumblr.com
Are you going through some trouble. Are you going through a Storm right now? If you are already a real Christian, just know this- Jesus is there with you. He is for you. Your Storm has a beginning, a middle and an end. Remember, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is close with you and on your side -- be on His side today. No matter what -- cloudy days, rainy days, and on sunny days or through your storms...He is faithful and won’t ever ditch you. He clearly promised that -- I’ll never leave you nor forsake you, believer. Go check it out and claim that Bible promise. Sure, He keeps all his promises.
I like prayin’ people like Daniel and really like Christ..who finished well. Did ya know that 30% of the people in the Bible finished well. Christ prayed and then...
"It is finished." ~ Jesus
Huh?...what did he mean by that? Cuz of the Cross.. the power of sin and Mr. Lu-Cifer aka Satan is finished, believer.
Lord, we want to finish well. Want to follow through and obey You.
Please give another dream to dream and help. Really wanna see clearly out the front windshield and advance more so than just live in the rearview mirror.
Dare ya if I may.. Take the instructions that God has given you (go back to Him for the specifics..) and wisely put it into action.
Ya ain’t done if ya ain’t done (ain’t become worm-food, ain’t reached room temperature aka dead).
Help us home before dark, Lord. Not always as easy as rollin' off a log.. but opt to be upbeat and known more for what you are for than for what you are against. BTW: There are some really healthy Bible churches like this and you can find one.
What did Jesus even mean when He said, “It is finished”?
Of the last sayings of Christ on the cross, none is more important or more poignant than, “It is finished.” Found only in the Gospel of John, the Greek word translated “it is finished” is tetelestai, an accounting term that means “paid in full.” When Jesus uttered those words, He was declaring the debt owed to His Father was wiped away completely and forever. Not that Jesus wiped away any debt that He owed to the Father; rather, Jesus eliminated the debt owed by mankind—the debt of sin.
Just prior to His arrest by the Romans, Jesus prayed His last public prayer, asking the Father to glorify Him, just as Jesus had glorified the Father on earth, having “finished the work you have given me to do” (John 17:4). The work Jesus was sent to do was to “seek and save that which is lost” (Luke 19:10), to provide atonement for the sins of all who would ever believe in Him (Romans 3:23-25), and to reconcile sinful men to a holy God. “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). None other but God in the flesh could accomplish such a task.
Also completed was the fulfillment of all Old Testament prophecies, symbols, and foreshadowings of the coming Messiah. From Genesis to Malachi, there are over 300 specific prophecies detailing the coming of the Anointed One, all fulfilled by Jesus. From the “seed” who would crush the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15), to the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53, to the prediction of the “messenger” of the Lord (John the Baptist) who would “prepare the way” for the Messiah, all prophecies of Jesus’ life, ministry, and death were fulfilled and finished at the cross.
Although the redemption of mankind is the most important finished task, many other things were finished at the cross. The sufferings Jesus endured while on the earth, and especially in His last hours, were at last over. God’s will for Jesus was accomplished in His perfect obedience to the Father (John 5:30; 6:38). Most importantly, the power of sin and Satan was finished. No longer would mankind have to suffer the “flaming arrows of the evil one” (Ephesians 6:16). By raising the “shield of faith” in the One who completed the work of redemption and salvation, we can, by faith, live as new creations in Christ. Jesus’ finished work on the cross was the beginning of new life for all who were once “dead in trespasses and sins” but who are now made “alive with Christ” (Ephesians 2:1, 5).
So many riots still. Hey, serving and helping people.. instead of harming and looting from them.. that’s great.
What does it mean that God is great?
Jesus (God the Son) came here and served people, and sacrificed for us.
Among many other places, Psalm 145:3 declares, “Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.” Dozens of verses describe God as “great” and give as evidence His wondrous works (e.g., Psalm 86:10; 96:4; 135:5; Job 5:9; 9:10; 1 Chronicles 16:24). In describing a person, the word great means “preeminent, above the norm, or distinguished.” It also implies superior character or quality, such as saying that Abraham Lincoln was “a great man.” So, when the Bible describes God as “great,” it sets the Lord apart from human beings we may consider “great” and calls attention to His worthiness to be worshiped and adored (2 Kings 17:36; Psalm 5:7).
The word great is used in many English versions of the Bible to capture the meaning of the Greek and Hebrew words describing God’s superior character qualities. First John 3:1 says, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (emphasis added). Romans 9:22 speaks of God’s “great patience.” Lamentations 3:22–23 praises the Lord for His great love and His great faithfulness.
Ephesians 1:19 indicates that God’s might is unsurpassed—it is an “incomparably great power.” Titus 2:13 calls Jesus “our great God and Savior,” meaning that the Lord is of the highest rank, eminent in His authority. Hebrews 10:21 says that Jesus is “a great priest over the house of God,” signifying that Christ surpasses all other priests throughout history in nature, in power, and in ability. When Jesus cast a demon out of a boy, the crowd was “amazed at the greatness of God” (Luke 9:43).
All through the Bible, we see evidence that God is great, from the creation of the world, to the parting of the Red Sea, to the miracles of Christ, to the final judgment. Our response to God’s greatness is to humbly worship and adore Him: “Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness” (Psalm 150:2).
God is so great that He cannot be compared with anything or anyone else (Psalm 71:19). Since He created everything in existence, He is far superior to those creations. He is bigger, in the sense that He cannot be confined by time or space. He is wiser, using foolish things to confound those who think themselves wise (Isaiah 40:13; 1 Corinthians 1:27). He is infinite, while all created things are finite (Psalm 90:2). God, in fact, defines greatness, and all other uses of the word are mere echoes of that greatness.
Serving Others > Self-Serving
“If your gift is serving others, serve them well.” —Romans 12:7
Do you like serving people? Hey, whatever you’re doing for a living or perhaps volunteering in, whether you’re working at a sushi or burger restaurant, or serving in local church, or say working in healthcare, do this.. serve well. If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing with excellence.
Here’s the mark of a human that God has called to serve.. they recognize a real need to be met, or a hurt to be healed (sure, God can heal when we pray for people), and then they prayerfully make themselves available. At God’s leading, they wisely jump in and do something about it.
Some people have the gift of complaining instead of the gift of giving. Some people live on the take, rather than on the give. Some people give when the Spirit leads, even if they don’t have “the gift of giving.”
Some people seem so content with finding fault rather that with serving others—they grade preachers, and quickly voice all the things the church is doing wrong in their estimation.
But people with the gift of serving see a need and then practically meet that need because they want to help people out. They want to help people see Jesus who served sinners as He really is.. and then love Him more.
Are you other’s oriented, or just self orientated? Giving what ya can, serving where you can.. has God given you this spiritual gift?
What a wonderful gift this is. So, if you’re checking on your elderly neighbors, or friends.. and praying for them, that is super great, and if you’re out picking up the groceries for them or say mowing their lawn, that is great too. Because whatever you’re doing to serve the Lord.. to serve people.. it really matters. Directed service makes an impact for the glory of Christ.
The Bible says, “Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received” (1 Timothy 4:14 NLT). Or, as The Message puts it, “Keep that dusted off and in use.”
Be faithful in the little things, and God will open up greater opportunities for you. Because, as Warren Wiersbe has said, “You can never be too small for God to use, only too big.”
Of course people should really want to, and do need toserve God first. I mean from the heart. That’s so normal and obvious in Scripture (see Luke 4:8). Why we should want to serve God is a more difficult question. Every Christian asked might have a different reason for serving God; different people are motivated by different things. However, the Bible does make clear that, when a person is in a real relationship with God, he will serve God. We should want to serve God because we know Him; an inherent part of knowing Him is a desire to serve Him.
It’s always been God’s intention to make us like His Son, Jesus (Romans 8:29). When we look at Jesus’ life, there’s no denying that He was a servant. Jesus’ entire life was centered on serving God—by teaching, healing, and proclaiming the Kingdom (Matthew 4:23). He came not “to be served but to serve” (Matthew 20:28). Then, on the night of His arrest, Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, leaving them with a final teaching to serve one another: “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you” (see John 13:12–17). So, if Jesus is all about serving, and God wants to make us like Him, then it’s pretty obvious that we should be all about serving as well.
Directed service, yes following Jesus as you serve people is great. None of us want to get too busy working (like some idolatrous workaholic) that we don’t take time to be alone with Christ sitting at his feet, but we want to serve people as well.
Genuine service cannot be separated from love. We can go through the motions of serving God, but if our hearts are not in it we’re missing the point. First Corinthians 13 makes it clear that, unless our service is rooted in love, it’s meaningless. Serving God out of a sense of obligation or duty, apart from love for God, is not what He desires. Rather, serving God should be our natural, love-filled response to Him who loved us first (see 1 John 4:9–11).
The apostle Paul is a great example of how having a relationship with God through Christ results in a life of service. Prior to his conversion, Paul persecuted and killed believers, thinking he was serving God. But after he encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus, he immediately devoted the rest of his life to truly serving God by spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ (see Acts 9:20). Paul describes this transformation in 1 Timothy 1:12–14: “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” Once Paul became aware of the love and grace that God had given him, his response was to serve God.
The Bible offers several motivations for our service. We want to serve God because “we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken” (Hebrews 12:28), because our service supplies “the needs of the Lord’s people” (2 Corinthians 9:12), because our service proves our faith and causes others to praise God (2 Corinthians 9:13), and because God sees and rewards our labor of love (Hebrews 6:10). Each of these is a good reason to serve God.
We can give away only what we’ve first received. The reason we can love and serve God is that He first loved and served us through Jesus Christ. The more we are aware of and experience God’s love in our own lives, the more prone we are to respond in love by serving Him. If you want to want to serve God, the key is to get to know Him! Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal more of God to you (John 16:13). When we truly know God, who is love (1 John 4:8), our natural response is a desire to love and serve Him in return. Fish4souls.org
Was Asked More Than Once This Week About My Testimony.. Kurt's Story.
Where do I start with that? My siblings (Kevin, Kyle, Kathy) and I grew up at Tom Sawyer Camp -- my Grandfather Bill started it and my dad with my mom (Kim and Betty) ran this Camp. It was and is great -- lots of adventures!
We went to church weekly like many of our friends did, but really, we were some lost souls. Religion says be moral, but it saves no one.
We grew up playing football for the Glendale Bears, and doing yearly desert camping trips, Sierra Mountain trips, and Colorado river trips down to Mexico.
Lots of camping out under the stars at night.
We grew up playing football, and volleyball on the beach in Southern California too. Yes, I was a full-tilt-lost-surfer but was rescued by Jesus Christ in the Spring of 77.
Have you ever tried dead religion? I was raised in a family that was a part of a traditional Roman church. I was an altar boy that tried hard to be good but often messed up. I mean with a bad attitude, bad words, lots of fights at school and at home. I was totally lost.
It wasn’t at all uplifting at church--I’m sure they all meant well but I had never heard the Gospel Message and was told that my pastor, Father Night (that was his real name) was not yet saved. My parents often fought on the way home each Sunday. I did that with my brothers too sometimes.
Their message at the church was basically: Do better, do good. Be better, be good (but they never gave us the power to pull it off). We all at my home were completely lost, not proud that I was, but was too proud just the same.. while trusting in some good works at the time. Some good works, not so many.
My grandfather was an alcoholic and both of my parents were alcoholics during my upbringing (according to them. It’s true). I sure love them — they’ve all given so much to me in spite of their drinking and they worked hard to provide. I felt far from God, afraid of eternity, and knew I wasn’t so good at all cuz I couldn’t keep God’s Top Ten. My brothers couldn’t either, and my older brother went MIA on chemicals for over 12 years. We didn’t know most of that time where he even was.
During my teen years I grew up on the beach in Southern California as a wild surfer. Yes, I lived wild, and I did wild sinful things -- my life got out of control.. ie, I remember having a car accident on the Coast Highway with a curb after drinking one night.
Man, I seemed to have inherited my parent’s same problem with the bottle. I should have gone to jail. Deserved to be there. And how did my car crash with a big curb happen? Easy. It happened by my own bad choices and by my impaired judgement. That’s how.
I was often invited to, and I often went to parties every week or weekend. The buzz or feeling people get there is so temporary.
For me, I felt miserable inside, guilty, empty, disoriented and hopeless with such a hard heart inside. The surfer partiers / drinkers I chose as my close friends sure didn’t help me at all, but my Dana Hills coach Randy Ziglar did help me. He is a 4A rated surfer who would take me surfing and he witnessed to me of Christ’s love and saving grace. I put deciding off, and opted not to come to Jesus for a while. I wanted to be careful with spiritual choices and the relationship with God that he described. What would my Catholic family think? It all seemed true, but so foreign to me. But how could it be real, or from God if it wasn’t blessed by a bonafide Catholic priest in his “holy” vestments?
One evening I was invited to a home Bible study up the coast in the Newport Beach area of California. The difference was they were born again spiritually (according to the Bible). This righteous “born again standing” was totally a new concept to me, but they explained it from the Bible.
When I said a sinner's prayer, I knew I really was a sinner and so meant it. I now love home Bible studies -- I felt such a love for the Lord that we read about in the Book and tried to join in with their worship.. so at the end of the study time when I was once again presented with the Gospel Message, I firmly decided this is the Savior and God I really needed inside. I turned and trusted Jesus Christ.
"And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. That You May Know I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life." 1 John 5:11-13 esv
The home was near Newport Beach where I received the Lord and they were some BOLD gray-headed Christian ladies. The fellowship was sweet, kind of hard to explain. I've never once regretted my decision there...to believe on Christ at that time. Best BEST decision I ever made.
Got ocean-water-baptized while a senior at Dana Hills High School in the Dana Point Harbor in Dana Point, California. This was a season where I really grew fast spiritually (there is zero spiritual growth apart from the Word of God). It was while I was attending Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa with Pastor Chuck Smith, Jimmy Kempner, Randy Ziglar and Greg Laurie. Bible teachers who kept it simple for surf-rats like me.
The out-growth of receiving so much sound Bible teaching was that God gave me a real love for the lost and started using me to verbally witness to and to win my surfing and volleyball buddies to Christ. Not to self, but to Jesus who can forgive any of us. After high school I sold real estate in the beach communities for some years, but I would often find myself questioned by potential buyers and sellers. I would find myself addressing the greatest needs of my clientele – their spiritual needs It's SoCal, lots of broken dreams, broken hearts and broken people were everywhere.
I enjoyed living for, surfing for, and talking about Jesus more than anything else (didn't care if anyone called me a Jesus freak, cuz he makes people out of freaks not visa versa) ..and I was eventually called to prepare for Gospel ministry in 1980.
I tried to attend Life Bible College first, but got redirected to a school in the East by the Life School secretaries. So I drove a long way over to Texas in my VW bus with the flowered curtains, coco mats, and Aloha surf racks.
Went through some culture shock, had do adjust a bit. This is where I studied the Word at a couple different Bible colleges in the Dallas area during the 80’s. And it was during this time that I met my beautiful wife, Liney Renea, who was also a Bible school student at my same school.
As singles, we separately were involved in different Dallas ministries and in summer missions trips. After our marriage on August 14th in ’82 I continued to make some short term missions trips into Eastern and Western Europe.
This was such an exciting time before the Wall fell in Berlin. I remember making friends and passing out German tracts I created in East Berlin.
I also served for the decade of the eighties as a Pastor over East Dallas home groups at an eleven-thousand-member non-denominational church in Rockwall, Texas.
In 1990 Stephan, Nathan, Christian (our boys), Liney and I (Kurt) were properly sent out to Germany from that local church. We then pastored and served as independent missionaries in Bavaria, and were involved in helping to establish five new local German churches (basing from a church that was started as a Christian book store in Augsburg near Munich). Lots of fun, lots of new friends, lots of JOY in Jesus!
Liney always taught the women excellently. As a missionary, I taught for four years in their Harvest Bible School in Schwaben. My wife and I were busy with that and overseeing ...what some of the Lutheran Pastors there called “a thriving youth ministry” and we traveled extensively doing itinerant evangelism throughout what is now called the European Union. There were many kids showing up pretty hungry for contemporary worship and Bible teaching. God knows for sure about any growth that was happening -- we give him the glory. I sure couldn't save anyone. I couldn't bring any growth for self or others at all apart from the Word.
When we (the von Schleichers) finally returned to America I worked full time with a Rockwall missions organization called Global Advance. And from there I was privileged to traveled into South American countries to hold some pastor-training conferences.
I also became an assistant pastor at another ten-thousand-plus-member Church in Carrollton Texas where we weekly ministered and enjoyed leading the youth out on some mission trips. It's been quite an adventure.
In our travels, we have learned a lot about different cultures, about healthy churches, not-so healthy churches and about the unique distinctions in the many different streams of Christendom. Of course we never lost a desire to remain non-sectarian in attitude and even open to learn from all types of these believers. Wonderful people -- we feel so grateful for our time with them! God continues to use Liney and I with some gifts of the Spirit for His glory. I am now serving daily as a Community Leader with Global Media Outreach, and I teach in a class at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano Texas.
We’ve SO enjoyed all the fellowship with Christ and His people -- yes, we still do! Daily I feel like a reheated, refilled believer -- want to stay red-hot in my passion for Christ. The people at Prestonwood and GMO are family to Liney and I! Close! Been far more blessed than I deserve really.
It’s been said by a few fellow pastors.. "From radio ministry in Nicaragua to youth retreats high up in the mountains of Romania, God has blessed Kurt to minister in twenty eight nations for His glory. Kurt owes the Lord, and his wonderful wife Liney many thanks for being with him through all the traveling." I really do -- thank you! Daily Liney and I pray, trust and hope that God continues to use us. We're willing to go where he leads.
Dare ya if I may.. Refire, why retire? Keep goin' in the will of God. Where’s the only place in the Bible where I can see retirement? Here in Num 8:24-26.
“This is what applies to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they shall enter to perform service in the work of the Tent of Meeting, but at the age of fifty years, they shall retire from the service of the tabernacle work and serve no longer. they may assist their brothers in the Tent of Meeting to keep an obligation, but they shall do no heavy or difficult work. Thus you shall deal with the Levites concerning their obligations.” amp
Did ya know that the average person dies between two and seven years after their retirement. Don’t stop livin the life. Why stop your earnest prayin’ or ministering the word for decisions? That’d be crazy, it’s so overrated.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:58
Be encouraged in the word. Why live discouraged? Why be that way another minute? It’s been said that John Calvin left a mark on this world that has endured for centuries. He taught a lot of truth, yet during his lifetime he often battled discouragement. I’m not a Calvinist, but Jesus lived inside John and God used him to help a lot of people.
He once said, “I am entangled in so many troublesome affairs that I am almost beside myself.” On another occasion, he said, “Today hardly one in a hundred considers how difficult and arduous it is to faithfully discharge the office of pastor.” And again he said, “In addition to the immense troubles by which I am so sorely consumed, there is almost no day on which some new pain or anxiety does not come.”
“The Bible repeatedly tells us to eschew discouragement, to treat it like a sin, to resist and refuse it. “Do not fear or be discouraged,” says Deuteronomy 1:21. The Lord is never discouraged, and in His service there is victory. Our life, love, and labor in the Lord is never in vain. Today take God’s promise in 1 Corinthians 15:58 and use it like a broom to sweep discouragement out of your heart.” ~ Charles Stanley
God would never discourage you or me. He ain’t at all like htat. He would always encourage, He would point us to His promises. He always keeps em -- yes, the Father would point us to the living Word, to Christ in order for us to trust Him more. Jesus is 100% trustworthy. When feelin’ down, read and reread 1 Corinthians 15:50-58.
Hey Americans, go vote. Choose life. This country here, the USA is so unique. Exceptional. I love all the nations, but this one is truly special. Be encouraged to intercede for our leaders and nation.
We must pray with the right address attached..to the Father in the name of Jesus. We must appropriately act and preserve America so that future generations can know the wonderful story of our founding...as well as experience proper protection and all of the blessings.
Right there,"set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live." See Deuteronomy 30:15-20.
Do ya like senseless riots, attacks and fires? I don't. Be encouraged to vote smart. Remember, only one guy running is backing the blue. One is proudly (in a good sense) and very enthusiastically supporting our US law enforcement. Yep, he's the one that Police across this Land fully, openly endorse ..and they don't normally do that. Vote to defend and fund more, not to defund or disband the Police!
“A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.” ~ Theodore Roosevelt 26th U.S. President
"The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever." Psalm 119:160
Be encouraged in the Lord. Pray without ceasing.. not all religious like, but in the Spirit.
Idea to start in the word, believer: Go through Proverbs (that help ya better relate to people) and Psalms monthly (that help ya relate better with God. Yeah double-dog dare ya if I may.. read 1 chapter and 5 per day).
