2012 The year of Urgency!

You know, when thinking of the year 2012 one would almost automatically think the END....of.....THE WORLD. Come on, you know you have. No one can escape it; there are so many people convinced that Dec. 21, 2012 will be the last day we have. I can't help to say this, what if they are right? Not in a crazy way, but in a Christian way. Just follow me just a moment. As I was praying today I had this huge feeling of urgency for the people of the World. I know, I know, we should always have that feeling for the lost people that we continually see everyday. However, let's be real; we really could be doing a better job at caring.

We are so consumed with ourselves and the pleasure we can get that we innocently, and totally forget the people that have NOTHING, or on their way straight to HELL. It is highly possible that the World could or could not end on December 21, 2012. Who cares? The fact remains, that it could end today or tomorrow.

So here is what I say to you "GO." It's simple, Jesus said go, he didn't tell you to make creative ways to draw people so they can be amused with your creativity. DUDE that runs out trust me! JESUS simply said go. The Word is strong enough if you will just speak it. I want you to know that Christ IS coming soon, yes He is. In what way are you making "GO" active in your life? GO, tell them about a Savior who loves them unconditionally and wants to free them from Judgement. GO, love somebody that is hurting even if it's out of your way. GO, give someone the coat off your back. GO, and pay for the persons meal that is standing behind you and leave a note that says "Jesus gave all, I can give some."

It's quite simple, develop a "GO" mentality. Time is running out, whether it is Dec. 21, 2012 or tomorrow. Revelation 22:7 says, "Behold I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book." So, lay down your silly preconceived judgements of people and be more like Christ; GO.

Hands and Feet.....I'll Go Where You Send Me

Isn't it amazing when God revelates something to you. Do you not get this overwhelming feeling that you are special. We are special to him and He wants to revelate his word to us always remember that.

For the past few weeks I have been thinking about mission trips and missionaries and so on. I have been thinking about all the wonderful things that these brave people are doing for the Lord! The courage that it takes to to say "I am going to pack up my things and go to India to minister to people that need to hear the word of God" blows me away. There is no way in this world that I could do that (1) because I hate flying...terrified! (2) because I hate flying!!! I don't see myself going and doing those things...I truly do not feel that calling on my life. Thank God for people that do. I really believe that God has a special blessing for those who go "the distance" to share the gospel and I would like to personally say Thank YOU!

However, God revealed something to Anthony Sellers that has change the way that I think a little bit. There is so many missionaries for 3rd world countries but there really isn't any "true" missionaries for this area. There is a ton of hurting people in our very communities yet we overlook them. They are hungry, lost, unhappy, alone, whatever it may be. They need someone! So I have made a commitment to myself and to the Lord that while others work so hard in other countries sharing the gospel, I will work hard in our communities to share the gospel. There is a large mission field right in our back door and religion has shut that door so they don't have to look at it. Well I'm not gonna set by and watch I wanna do something for the Lord. Actually let me rephrase that, I am gonna do what the Lord commanded. Matthew 28:19-20 says Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." I have a heart to see the people that have been cast aside to be brought back. If Jesus had a heart for all the lost and hurting people in the world shouldn't we? even the neighbors that no body likes. There is an overlooked mission field right before our eyes. Religion has gotta get out of the way. Why? Because Jesus is coming!

May God Bless You Richly

ant

Love at first sight.......Hmmmm?!?

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. I have really felt that my creativity levels are at an all time low...I'm not sure why, maybe it's just a phase....

Anyway I have been thinking about something today, something important. Why is it that Christianity is at an all time low and everything else is on the rise. ( I am about to get very mean...so if you are tender hearted forgive me) I think it's because "Christians" (notice the quotations) have rasied themselves up to a level that is unreachable by someone that needs salvation through Christ. What I mean by that is this - People are begining to be turned off by Christianity, even the most devote Christians are turning away because of the actions and attitude of todays "Christian". This is a sad thing! IT hurts me to see the way that we treat other...."If you don't go to this church you are going to hell", "If you don't sing this way you are going to hell", "If you don't speak this way then you are going to hell". I think we have lost the focus! Are we not in this together?!?!?!

Someone very dear to me and once was on FIRE for God will not even set foot in a church anymore. His reasoning "The people hurt you and talk about you and they dont'care"! I know that there are some that truly do care don't get me wrong. They are far a few between though!

Christians have gotten SO LAZY in there thinking. Christianity has become a status instead of a passion and it is so much more than that. However in order to get back to the basics we have got to understand one thing.."LOVE" Jesus said in 1 John 4:20 - If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. We tend to forget that it was love that has made a way for us when we don't deserve a way. We tend to forget that love picks us up when we should be trampled upon. If you want to be known as a follower of Christ then follow His teachings....in other words LOVE!!! That was His greatest commandment. If people don't see LOVE in you at first sight then they do NOT see Jesus in you AT ALL!!!

In Love people will not be turned away from Christianty...It can be a place to run too...

I leave you with this....

about 2 weeks ago God put this simple vision in my mind...A lost ship in the ocean and the storms were heavy. The crew on board had made their peace and were ready to die because they knew that they were alone and in danger...They knew that they may not return home....Then all of the sudden of in the distance they see a flashing light...very dim but it's there...as they got closer they saw a beat up lighthouse shining his bright light as bright as possible. The moment that the crew saw that light they had hope...even when hope could not exsist for them. They knew that were almost home.

No matter how beaten or broken you are, let your light, the love of Christ, shine as bright as it can...you never know what LOST ship is looking for it.

May God Bless you Richley

Ant

Witnessing After Dark

It was A few months ago bout 10:30 PM that I heard something slamming outside. I got out of bed to see what was going on and I saw a broke down car in my drive way and a man with a bright flashlight coming toward my house. I quickly got dress and opened the door and he was right there, I do not even think that he knocked. There was a little bit of fear coming over me as he ask me to come down to the end of my drive way and help him out. However I told him that I would be glad to jump his car off if I could find my cables. I got down to his car and became very nervous because I could tell that he was on drugs badly. All I wanted to do was to get his car fixed and get back in the house. A few minutes had passed and I had told him that I was the Youth Pastor at a church down the road and was curious if he went to church anywhere. All of the sudden another person got out of the car and came over real close to where I was standing. My nerves was feeling a bit stretched then. It was his wife, she was very gray in color and on drugs so badly that she looked dead. My heart was truly broken to see this, especially after seeing that they had two small children in the back seat.

They began to tell me that nothing in their lives could get any worse. Their car was broke down, their house burned down the night before and they were having to stay with a friend. Immediately the word sprung up in me and I quoted to them 1 Peter 5:7. I told them that the Word says to cast ALL your cares on him because he cares for you. You could see a glimmer in the eyes all the sudden. They begin to tell me that someone had invited them to church down the road so they were going to go there. I will never forget the look on the young lady’s face as she told me, “please pray for me and my children”. I assured her that I would and again they told me that it just could not get any worse. I again told them to cast their cares and worries on Christ! He told me that they were gonna get their lives straight and get back in church where they belonged. They left and I felt a bit refreshed knowing that I was able to share the Word with someone hurting. However there were so many things that I would have done differently if I could do it over again. After thinking about the time I had with these lost hurting people I almost feel ashamed. I wish so badly that I would have wrote there names down and the names of there children. I wish I had of given them a card or something so that they could contact me for prayer when they needed it. One thing that regret the most is that I did not ask them if they were ready to receive Jesus as there Savior King at that moment. I let them get away and they were write in front of me.

Sharing God’s word and the Gospel of his Word is so important. One thing that I have learned from this experience is that we cannot waste any more time waiting till next time. There is lost and hurting people walking this earth and we are just letting them get away each day. If I had of gotten some way to contact them I could have checked on them and made sure that they were o.k. It is not about walking around a screaming “Jesus loves you” in people’s faces. It is about people seeing the Love of Christ in you and you become a light in their darkness. When I came back in the house and got back in bed I shared what had happened with my wife. Her response was “you always get the easy ones”. I thought that her response was quiet funny. On the contrary though It is not always easy witnessing. It is almost like something that you just have to do. There are certain fears that you have to overcome and obstacles that get in the way. The key thing that I see clearly now after this experience is that we can shed light on someone’s darkness. However, if we do not make any initiative to continue to help them somehow, they can and will fall back into the dark! It is so much more than saying Jesus loves you and then walking away! I pray that the Lord God Almighty will give me more chances so I can be a light in someone’s darkness.

Because I said so....

God has opened many wonderful doors for me in the past years... I am so thankful for each and every one of those doors. One huge door was being able to start Bible College last year. It has opened my eyes up to so many things about my relationship with God and how to truly see him. Last night I started my second Theology class and wow was it amazing. We talked about basic things just to get the class rolling, you know like what is theology and what is doctrine...basic stuff. Then as we got deeper into the night some great things started to unfold and one statement was made that changed the way I looked at salvation....I mean it changed it deeply!

"How can you love someone you don't know?"

That statement alone amazed me... In today's Christian society if you ask someone what it is to be saved they will answer you, "To love Jesus with all your heart, that's what being saved is". Some may say "to believe that Jesus died and rose again", "If you just believe and love". Is it not more than that...As Christians we have made it easy to live our lives they way we want to, and hold on to certain threads of doctrine to get us by... Is it enough?
John 14:6 says - I am the way, the truth, and the life. no man comes to the father but by me. So we understand that Jesus is definitely the only way to Heaven. That's no problem. However have we taken the time to get to know who Jesus is... Or do we just say that we love him because that is what it calls for in our faith...

I would like to say that I am sorry if I am being a bit harsh...however I want people to understand what it really mean to have Salvation!

I know that their are some weirdos in the world that like to spit that "L" word out as soon as they start dating...Why because everyone wants to be loved... However most people like to take it slow. They wanna get to know the person before the take the step to say "I love you". Why? Because it is important to you to know who you are loving. Right? You don't wann get your heart broke. They thing is Jesus will not break your heart! He has taken the time to get to know you! He know the number of hairs on your head.

Have you taken the time in your faith in Christ to get to know Him so that when you say you LOVE him you know what you are talking about? If you think about this hard enough you will understand that being a Christian is more than just showing up at church on Sundays and walking the walk or talking the talk. It's about knowing that you are nothing without Him...My wife tells me all the time that she wouldn't know what to do with out me and I feel the same about her.... That is what our salvation should be based upon...That without Christ we are nothing and that we depend on him for everything.

There is gonna come a day when it is not so easy to be a Christian....( the Bible says so ) We are gonna have to be firm in our LOVE and BELIEF in order to survive the persecutions that are coming. When someone argues with us and asks us why we are a Christian and what proof do we have, the answer can't be "because I said so" or "because the bible says so". You need to research, study and have an answer that will make the person asking "think"! I can tell you every little thing about my wife because I love her.... Can we tell people every little thing about Jesus.....We say we LOVE him!


May God Bless You Richly

ant

Oh My What Big Teeth You Have!!!

Well I guess it's time that I talk about the events that unfolded last Sunday night. I was gonna keep it on the down low. It doesn't really have to do with "my life in ministry" but it is so funny I have to share it.

Last Saturday I had a normal routine day at the house same ole blah blah. It felt amazing outside so I went out and cleaned up the trash around the yard that my beautiful dog, Ellie Mae, decided to tear out. After getting it good and clean I felt like a million dollars. ( as usual when I do something manly) Well, that's just the starter of what took place. Sunday night when I got home from our outreach ministry I noticed something in the yard again...My blood started boiling.....I was not happy with ole Ellie at that very moment. It looked like it was just an old pillow that she had tore up. So I approached......... Just as I was going to pick it up I noticed something very peculiar. This pillow HAD TEETH! AHHH yikes. It looked dead but I wasn't sure, so I kicked it...and I mean hard! Nothing happened...still appeared dead, but it sounded like ole Ellie had some gas...then I come to realize that was not Ellie, no it..........was........THE POSSUM!

I called Mary to the door ( BIG mistake ) and told her about it. Well she started dancing around like the thing was after her. After kicking it again I noticed this old sucker is playin dead and I am not gonna let him get me! I ran into the house ( I feel like this is a good time to say this possum was not ordinary possum...It was a monster possum) anyway I ran into the house to get my gun. I was trying my best to keep Ellie away and keep Mary quite. By this Time she had already called all of her family. So I came back outside and disposed of the vile creature ( For the sake of people who love evil animals like this one...I will not go into details). When it was all said and done me and my now empty gun went back into the house. I looked at Mary and there was only one thing I could say and think...I'm a murderer..................I really did feel bad but that thing could have killed my dog......OR ME!

So anyway As you can see my Sunday night was no ordinary one. Many people wanted to know, why didn't you eat it...I wanna tell you this; I know I live in Alabama but I am not eating a possum.

Besides the crazy opossum, I do wanna leave you with a mighty scripture for today!

Hebrew 8:12 says- FOR I WILL BE MERCIFUL TO THEIR INIQUITIES, AND I WILL REMEMBER THEIR SINS NO MORE."

Isn't it amazing how much God loves us little ole normal people!

May God Bless you Richly

ant

BUT...I thought you LOVED me?

I have had the awsome apportuninty to be apart of a ministry called "Celebrate Recovery"for a while now. The idea for these services is for people with addiction to learn to let go and give God control of their life. There is no words to describe the power of these services. When I was invited to lead worship for the first time I wasn't real sure what to expect, but I was in a place in my life where needed God to move in me greatly. As I started to lead worship I begin to feel a great pressure lift from me...It was like a house fell off my shoulders. I was feeling more free than I ever had. The only thing that I could notice was that I was surrounded with people that truely wanted to worship God. Not just because it was the thing to do but because it of their passion for Him.

I have grown up in church all my life. I can remember the day the I accepted Jesus as my Savior King. I was 7 years old and I can remember it like it was a movie I watched last night... Though all the years I have been living for Christ I have not seen a group of people that wanted to just be close to their King like this before. It was the God moving event that I needed in me. I felt all the things that were weighing me down vanish. I learned to let go! If God is not in control of your life then who is? you? I don't think so.

Like I said I have been in church all my life so why did this service inspire me so much. I think simply because I was returning to my first Love. As Christians we can get caught up in the things of the world and before you know it you have slipped right back in to the things that it has for you...... i.e. Depression, lust, anger, FEAR. The devil has all these traps set up and waiting on us to trip over daily. So how do we handle it? We have to map out our course with the Word. It is our sword in battle, our light in darkness, and food when we are hungry. Yet we still leave our first love and chase the things the world has... WHY??? The only way I can compare it is this; have you ever used the phrase with someone "BUT...I thought you LOVED me". I have..We all have probably at some point. Think about what was going through your head...abandonment, hurt, alone... Now imagine God is saying that to us every time we cheat on him. Why is it so easy for us as christians to forget about our first Love. Then come running back when we need Him. Being saved is not just believing that Jesus died for you...It's depending on him for everything you are and knowing you are nothing with out Him. How could we let a world that is going to one day be destroyed sway us from that.

Revelations 2:4 says -Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

Thank you God for bringing me that Celebrate Recovery service and reminding me of my first love.

May God bless you richly

Ant

Join us @
Celebrate Recovery
-thursday nights
Dilworth Church of God
With Rev Dale Lawley