Friday, November 29, 2013
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Happy Thanksgiving 2013
We Americans are a blessed people, but we are also spoiled. I know I am. I can get flustered over the stupidest things—like when my cell phone doesn’t get a good signal, when a flight is delayed or when my computer takes too long to load a website. Most people in the world don’t have iPhones, can’t afford air travel and don’t have computers. My impatience reveals my ungrateful spirit.So how can we avoid this virus of selfish immaturity? Thankfulness is the antidote. It melts our pride and crushes our sense of entitlement. It reminds us that everything we have comes from God, and that His mercy is the only reason we are blessed . Have a Blessed Thanksgiving from all of us at Pass-the_Ball..
Rev. M.D. Rogers
Friday, November 22, 2013
To Be Thankful..- Rev. M.D. Rogers
This is the only life you will have before you enter eternity. If you want to find joy, you must first find thankfulness. The one who is thankful for even a little enjoys much. But the unappreciative soul is always miserable, always complaining, and lives outside the shelter of the Most High God.
Perhaps the worst enemy we have is not the devil but our own tongue. James tells us, "The tongue is set among our members as that which . . . sets on fire the course of our life" (James 3:6). He goes on to say this fire is ignited by hell. Consider: with our own words we can enter the spirit of heaven or the agonies of hell!
It is hell with its punishments, torments and misery that controls the life of the grumbler and complainer! Paul expands this thought in 1 Corinthians 10:10, where he reminds us of the Jews who "grumble. . . and were destroyed by the destroyer." The fact is, every time we open up to grumbling and complaining, the quality of our life is reduced proportionally -- a destroyer is bringing our life to ruin!
People often ask me, "What is the ruling demon over our church or city?" They expect me to answer with some ancient Aramaic or Phoenician name of a fallen angel. What I usually tell them is a lot more practical: one of the most pervasive evil influences over our nation is ingratitude!
Do not minimize the strength and cunning of this enemy! Paul said that the Jews who grumbled and complained during their difficult circumstances were "destroyed by the destroyer." Who was this destroyer? If you insist on discerning an ancient world ruler, one of the most powerful spirits mentioned in the Bible is Abaddon, whose Greek name is Apollyon. It means "destroyer" (Rev. 9:11). Paul said the Jews were destroyed by this spirit. In other words, when we are complaining or unthankful, we open the door to the destroyer, Abaddon, the demon king over the abyss of hell!
In the Presence of God
Multitudes in our nation have become specialists in the "science of misery." They are experts -- moral accountants who can, in a moment, tally all the wrongs society has ever done to them or their group. I have never talked with one of these people who was happy, blessed or content about anything. They expect an imperfect world to treat them perfectly.
Truly, there are people in this wounded country of ours who need special attention. However, most of us simply need to repent of ingratitude, for it is ingratitude itself that is keeping wounds alive! We simply need to forgive the wrongs of the past and become thankful for what we have in the present.
The moment we become grateful, we actually begin to ascend spiritually into the presence of God. The psalmist wrote,
"Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful singing. . . . Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the Lord is good; His loving-kindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations" (Psalm 100:2, 4-5).
It does not matter what your circumstances are; the instant you begin to thank God, even though your situation has not changed, you begin to change. The key that unlocks the gates of heaven is a thankful heart. Entrance into the courts of God comes as you simply begin to praise the Lord.”
Saturday, November 16, 2013
A Crisis of Faith -Rev.M.D. Rogers
A crisis of faith — when you seriously question whether what you believe/how you see/what you're committed to is actually true — is a good thing.
It's not pleasant. It hurts. The ground goes wobbly. You may be reaching for sleeping pills or alcohol or a lover to get you from 2 to 4:30 a.m. each night.
But it's good because we want to be open to truth and what it means for us.
Just a few examples of those uncomfortable thoughts: Maybe there isn't actually a God? Maybe there is? Maybe there is only one version, or maybe a multitude? Maybe evil and suffering are far more prevalent and powerful than I ever knew? Maybe the ideals I held so dear and fought for make no sense in the real world? Maybe I've let ambition cannibalize my ability to love? Maybe I've just found what I want to live for, but it will demand that I leave so much behind?
Sometimes our beliefs about the world evolve slowly. Other times a lightning bolt tears a wound in the old to illuminate what is new.
The world crashes around us all the time in different ways that can provoke a crisis of faith. Another example is the approximately 4,000 diagnoses of cancer each day.
But a crisis of faith can also come from positive experiences. We learn new things, science makes new discoveries, we have epiphanies and understand life or love or our spirits in new ways that make the old nonsensical.
Whatever causes a crisis of faith, there is often emotional, intellectual, spiritual turbulence along the way.
So this is, I guess, an ode to having crises of faith. I don't know if we should exactly invite them. Maybe. But at the least we should welcome them when they come and not chase them away. It's a chance to ask if we can receive something new and true, regardless of whether it's disturbing or liberating.
I'm not celebrating wishy-washiness. Quite the opposite. I'm arguing that we need to be committed to truth. And in the beautiful, tragic, complicated world that we live in, that necessarily means we'll have crises of faith along the way.
Let's follow them truthward.
It's not pleasant. It hurts. The ground goes wobbly. You may be reaching for sleeping pills or alcohol or a lover to get you from 2 to 4:30 a.m. each night.
But it's good because we want to be open to truth and what it means for us.
Just a few examples of those uncomfortable thoughts: Maybe there isn't actually a God? Maybe there is? Maybe there is only one version, or maybe a multitude? Maybe evil and suffering are far more prevalent and powerful than I ever knew? Maybe the ideals I held so dear and fought for make no sense in the real world? Maybe I've let ambition cannibalize my ability to love? Maybe I've just found what I want to live for, but it will demand that I leave so much behind?
Sometimes our beliefs about the world evolve slowly. Other times a lightning bolt tears a wound in the old to illuminate what is new.
The world crashes around us all the time in different ways that can provoke a crisis of faith. Another example is the approximately 4,000 diagnoses of cancer each day.
But a crisis of faith can also come from positive experiences. We learn new things, science makes new discoveries, we have epiphanies and understand life or love or our spirits in new ways that make the old nonsensical.
Whatever causes a crisis of faith, there is often emotional, intellectual, spiritual turbulence along the way.
So this is, I guess, an ode to having crises of faith. I don't know if we should exactly invite them. Maybe. But at the least we should welcome them when they come and not chase them away. It's a chance to ask if we can receive something new and true, regardless of whether it's disturbing or liberating.
I'm not celebrating wishy-washiness. Quite the opposite. I'm arguing that we need to be committed to truth. And in the beautiful, tragic, complicated world that we live in, that necessarily means we'll have crises of faith along the way.
Let's follow them truthward.
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Faith That Lives..
"For unto us a child is born, unto us, a Son is given: and the
government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called
Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace.- Isaiah 9:6, 7
Of the increase of His government and the peace there shall be no
end, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it, and
to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even
for ever. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform it."
The Bible informs us that David was the greatest king that Israel had
ever known. But like Moses, he too was a foreshadowing of the soon
coming Messiah. Like Moses foreshadowed the coming of Jesus, the
Prophet, David foreshadowed the coming of Jesus, the King. As David
was a mighty warrior, Jesus the soon coming King, will be the mighty
Lord of Hosts and conquering King. Just as the women sang praises of
the thousands that David destroyed, the world will call the new
King, "Wonderful". The comparisons of these two kings could go on,
but where they stop is in the fact that, King David, as great and as
mighty as he was, could never fulfill Israel's hopes for a Messiah.
Shortly after David died, the kingdom became divided and Israel began
to think that God had broken His promise of a Messiah.
David's kingdom was not the fulfillment of God's promise to Israel,
but rather it was the symbol of something greater to come. In 740 BC.
God sent a prophet by the name of Isaiah who prophesied of a greater
kingdom than David's; and a greater king than David. In Isaiah 11: 1,
2 he said, "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of
Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out his roots. And the Spirit of the
Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the
Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge, and of the fear
of the Lord."
Isaiah was talking about the coming of Jesus, our King. Not just any
king, but a King Who would have upon His shoulders, an increased
government, increased in peace. They would call Him the "Prince of
Peace." This King would have great wisdom and understanding. The
Spirit of counsel would be upon Him so great that the world would
call Him "Counselor." Unlike David, this King will not die, but will
rule forever.
Kids Say This Is the Best Way to Be a Better Dad
Kids Say This Is the Best Way to Be a Better Dad
Every year we conduct essay contests in different areas of the country, where thousands of children write about “What my father means to me.” We always get priceless stories and comments, expressed as only kids can. The entire experience is truly heartwarming.
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