A while ago, I unknowingly met a friend of mine as he traveled home from work. When he asked later if I had seen him that day I asked him "Are you sure it was me?" God then burned his reply deep in my heart when my friend said "Yes, I know it was you because I saw Jesus." Now let me explain this before a rumor gets started that I'm claiming to be Jesus or that my friend believes I am! Actually, he was not even complimenting me at all. I had previously bought a tag for my truck that reads "Jesus is the answer" with JESUS in big letters and it's still there. While there are several trucks that resemble mine in the area, to my knowledge no others have the same tag so that's how he could tell at a glance it was me. On my way home from work just a few months ago, I hit a deer and was amazed to find the only damage to my truck I found was that my Jesus tag was broken to pieces, still legible, but broken with deer hair embedded. I had forgotten about it until I noticed it last week while washing it. I also noticed the letters that spelled Jesus weren't as bold as they once were as time had faded the paint. Boy, what some great truths are in this story. It caused me to wonder if my light was still as bright as it once was.
Matthew 5:16 says "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." This simply means that others will see the good things we do, but God will get the glory. In other words, our actions will be visible but we won't if our hearts are in the right place.
I believe that others should be able to see Jesus in us, not just by the fish symbols and tags on our vehicles or the Crosses we have tattooed on our bodies or on a necklace. Our actions, reactions, language and conversation should clearly set us apart from the world. If not, we should do a self-examination of our lives. Do you have the light of Jesus shining from your life? Has your light, like my old tag, faded or dimmed with time? It's time that those of us who claim to know Jesus start acting like Him instead of just talking about Him!
I think I'm gonna get a new tag for the truck; A bright and shiny one that screams "Jesus"!
In Christ,
Preston
Monday, September 20, 2010
Sunday, September 5, 2010
The Lovely Name of Jesus
If you spend more than 15 minutes around me, chances are you know a few things about me. First, I hope you would see the blood of Jesus on my life. Next, you should note that I love my family and friends. Then you would know that I am a huge Squire Parsons fan. As a matter of fact, my wife would say he should be listed second! I remember as a teenager first hearing him sing "The Lovely Name of Jesus" on the radio and thinking what a powerful voice that was and I had to find out more about this guy. As I've followed his career, I've found him to be a great example of how God will reward our faithfulness as is evident in Squire's long and successful career in Southern Gospel music. Through the years, that song still remains one of my favorite songs he has written.
"The Lovely Name of Jesus" speaks of a name that is mentioned in Phillipians 2 starting with verse 9, " Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Acts 4:12 tells us "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." This means that as great as I think Squire is, his name does not possess the saving power that can only be found in Jesus Christ! That's right, not in Billy Graham, not in Buddha or Muhammad, not in George Washington or George Bush or George Foreman.....only Jesus! "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" taken from John 14:6 says as much.
I'll be a die-hard Squire fan as long as I live but I can only trust Jesus with my soul. As powerful and important as the names of some are here on earth, any authority given to them will be destroyed along with the earth. I can only pray that you too are putting your trust in Jesus alone. Romans 10:13 tells us if we call upon His name, we can be saved. I hope you have taken advantage of His generous offer.
Here are the lyrics to "The Lovely Name of Jesus" by Squire Parsons and there is a link on my facebook page to a video of this song.
Oh how sweet the name of Jesus and how it calms my doubts and fears.
And how it fills my soul with glory when that lovely name I hear.
Clouds roll back, the sun starts shining, pain and heartache just disappear,
My burdens lighter, the day is brighter when that lovely name I hear.
At the very thought of Jesus all earthly treasures grow strangely dim.
For all my longings and all my searchings, I found them all when I found Him.
In Christ,
Preston
"The Lovely Name of Jesus" speaks of a name that is mentioned in Phillipians 2 starting with verse 9, " Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Acts 4:12 tells us "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." This means that as great as I think Squire is, his name does not possess the saving power that can only be found in Jesus Christ! That's right, not in Billy Graham, not in Buddha or Muhammad, not in George Washington or George Bush or George Foreman.....only Jesus! "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" taken from John 14:6 says as much.
I'll be a die-hard Squire fan as long as I live but I can only trust Jesus with my soul. As powerful and important as the names of some are here on earth, any authority given to them will be destroyed along with the earth. I can only pray that you too are putting your trust in Jesus alone. Romans 10:13 tells us if we call upon His name, we can be saved. I hope you have taken advantage of His generous offer.
Here are the lyrics to "The Lovely Name of Jesus" by Squire Parsons and there is a link on my facebook page to a video of this song.
Oh how sweet the name of Jesus and how it calms my doubts and fears.
And how it fills my soul with glory when that lovely name I hear.
Clouds roll back, the sun starts shining, pain and heartache just disappear,
My burdens lighter, the day is brighter when that lovely name I hear.
At the very thought of Jesus all earthly treasures grow strangely dim.
For all my longings and all my searchings, I found them all when I found Him.
In Christ,
Preston
Friday, August 27, 2010
God's Ability and Our Inability
I'd like to start off by first confessing to you that I'm no preacher so if your looking for someone to wow you with Biblical knowledge, you will be disappointed. I just thought I'd share some of the thoughts the Lord has put on my heart lately. If it goes well and people enjoy this, we'll keep doing it.
My thought today, as the title suggests, came from a conversation I had with myself (don't act like you don't do that too!). If you know me very well at all, you know that I love singing for the Lord and my dream is to one day get to make a living doing just that. When the thought first came to mind, the little devil on one of my shoulders said "you're not a good enough singer for that" and, to be honest, I could not disagree with the statement. Just when I was ready to give up on my dream, the Lord that was perched on my other shoulder said "remember, it's not about what you can do, it's about what I can do through you"! What an awesome reality check! Without His blessing on our efforts, none of us have enough talent to make it on our own. God has made a habit of greatly using people who felt they weren't good enough to accomplish anything for Him. From the start, Moses began to "inform" God of his many faults when he was given the call to deliver His children from Egypt and Pharaoh. I wrote a song about this called "Give Him What Ya Got" and it talks about how when we are called to do a work for God, HE will give us whatever we need to accomplish the task. I shared a passage with some of you yesterday from Psalms 37 that says in verse 4 "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart"NIV. I just thought to myself that if my heart is right and I so desire to serve the Lord by doing what He's called me to do already, who's to say that my dream won't come to pass some day? (note to Vanessa: Relax, I have not quit my job........yet!)
I guess what the Lord was trying to tell me is 1) Our faults and short-comings are no match for His wonder-working power to equip, 2) Godly desires can be granted to those who seek His will in their lives and 3) Don't ever think that you have to be the best to be used by God for it is He who makes us great! Little is much when God is in it!
"Though you may not feel qualified for what you're called to do
"Just give Him what ya got and watch what God can do!"
I would appreciate any feedback you might have, good or bad, on my blogs.
In Christ,
Preston
My thought today, as the title suggests, came from a conversation I had with myself (don't act like you don't do that too!). If you know me very well at all, you know that I love singing for the Lord and my dream is to one day get to make a living doing just that. When the thought first came to mind, the little devil on one of my shoulders said "you're not a good enough singer for that" and, to be honest, I could not disagree with the statement. Just when I was ready to give up on my dream, the Lord that was perched on my other shoulder said "remember, it's not about what you can do, it's about what I can do through you"! What an awesome reality check! Without His blessing on our efforts, none of us have enough talent to make it on our own. God has made a habit of greatly using people who felt they weren't good enough to accomplish anything for Him. From the start, Moses began to "inform" God of his many faults when he was given the call to deliver His children from Egypt and Pharaoh. I wrote a song about this called "Give Him What Ya Got" and it talks about how when we are called to do a work for God, HE will give us whatever we need to accomplish the task. I shared a passage with some of you yesterday from Psalms 37 that says in verse 4 "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart"NIV. I just thought to myself that if my heart is right and I so desire to serve the Lord by doing what He's called me to do already, who's to say that my dream won't come to pass some day? (note to Vanessa: Relax, I have not quit my job........yet!)
I guess what the Lord was trying to tell me is 1) Our faults and short-comings are no match for His wonder-working power to equip, 2) Godly desires can be granted to those who seek His will in their lives and 3) Don't ever think that you have to be the best to be used by God for it is He who makes us great! Little is much when God is in it!
"Though you may not feel qualified for what you're called to do
"Just give Him what ya got and watch what God can do!"
I would appreciate any feedback you might have, good or bad, on my blogs.
In Christ,
Preston
Thursday, August 26, 2010
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