Wow. It's been a long time since I have published a blog. Since losing my job at Exchange Street I haven't really been "inspired" to write. The last blog I actually wrote was in April and it's now June 25. My house still hasn't sold and I am waiting for a church. My last paycheck came two weeks ago so things are getting scary. I turned on the radio yesterday and David Jeremiah was talking about Gideon and how even though he was visited by an angel Gideon still questioned God by putting out some fleece at night. I feel like Gideon right now. We say we want to trust God and put our lives in His hands but when we are really faced with the situation where we absolutely have to trust Him and put ourselves to the side, IT'S HARD! Gideon wasn't a warrior...he was more of a wimp. He was least in his father's house and he was very poor. He was hiding out when the angel came to him. Yet God saw something in Gideon that maybe even Gideon didn't see and he was chosen by God to lead the Israelites to victory over the Midianites. Gideon's army started out with 32,000 men, yet by the time God dwindled it down, there were only 300 men. These three hundred men defeated a huge army with water pots! Talking about trusting God! I don't know what you are facing today...what struggles you have...but trust God. Hold to His hand and He will see you through. You will have the victory even if you are surrounded by your enemy and outnumbered 100 to 1. God will come through. I encourage you to read the story of Gideon in Judges 6 and 7. I feel like Gideon this morning, a wimp, but I know with God by my side I AM A WARRIOR! God bless you today friend.

What are you made of?

I have battled thoughts all this week. Thoughts of being a loser, a pathetic idiot, one who can't get it right. I know those negative thoughts only come from the accuser himself. He's the real idiot and loser. God has constantly reminded me that I am a child of His and that He dwells inside of me. That, my friends, makes me a winner no matter what trials I face and the same goes for you too! If we belong to Jesus, then...so what? Whatg about all these things that bombard our lives to bring us down and tries to keep us in the valley? We have victory over all of it! We may not be able to see it or feel it, but it is there-victory. Romans 8:15 says For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" and Galatians 4:6 says Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" That word "ABBA" can be translated as "daddy". We don't have to be afraid of what we are facing! We don't have to fear what lies ahead. All we need to do is trust that God, our Father, is with us and will be with us until the trials are over. By faith, start practicing your victory dance because it is near! Randy

Being Patient

Yes, it is the dreaded "P"word...patience. It's a word that I do not like very much and something I'm definitely not very good at. I have preached on this subject many times in my short preaching career but it is easier said than done. If you have read my blogs at all then you noticed that I lost my job a few weeks ago. It has been a little over three weeks now. I have sent resumes to several churches all over the states but I haven't heard much out of them so far. I keep wondering, "God, what are You up to? My pay will run out soon and I need to take care of my family!" Then I hear His reply..."Patience. Trust Me." It's tough. Really hard! Yesterday, the preacher at the church we visited preached on the Lord being Light and that He lights up our path as we take one step at a time. the Lord showed me something while I was in Iowa, an idea that I will share later on. right now it's in it's infant stages and I'm doing a lot of planning, thinking, and praying. We truly want God's will to be done. We want to walk in His blessings and not do something selfishly. I know God will take care of us...He always has. He has brought us through so much and when this test is over, we will be stronger and He will get all the glory. Keep us in your prayers...Randy

Road Trip

This past Sunday I got an opportunity to preach. It was great. After church my family ate with the youth minister and his wife. It was great fellowship. When we got to the car my wife and I made a spontaneous decision...we decided to take a road trip. We are now in Iowa where we used to minister at, 600 miles from home. We have surrounded ourselves with such great friends here. We haven't been here in over 4 years so we were due a visit. It's amazing how you can be surrounded by 200 people and be lonely in a town of 13,000 people and you can drive to a town in the middle of nowhere with 4,500 people in it and be surrounded with such great love! Jesus went through something similar to this. He was rejected by His hometown, even His own kind of folk yet He had 12 close friends that encouraged Him on a daily basis. True friends are great to have especially when you need encouragement. Even though it's muddy as can be, Osceola, Iowa is a great town to be in right now. Father, thank you for friends that lift up and encourage. What a friend we have in Jesus! Amen...

What does a Christian look like?

What is the first image that pops in your head when you hear the word "Christian"? How would you describe a Christian? Suit and tie, nice dress, someone who goes to church, quotes scripture, reads a Bible, sings praises to God…these are some words that comes to my mind. Maybe you think of things like hypocrite, stuck up, snobby, etc. or maybe you think of words like gentle, merciful, patient, etc. Drop me an email and give me some feedback.

I know that the word “Christian” means “like Christ” but do we, as Christians look like Christ? Do people see Christ when they look at us? Think about some of the things Jesus did. He healed people, He touched lepers, He cast out demons, He died for our sins, etc. In a nut shell, Jesus gave hope to the hopeless. What are we doing for those who have needs? Are we trying to meet them? We are a selfish people who have very little time for our own needs much less any one else’s. Christ was self-less and He made time for people’s needs. Even though He was surrounded by crowds of people every where He went begging for Him to help them, He always was filled with compassion.

I’ll ask you again…Do people see Jesus when they look at you? Lord, help us to “be Jesus” as I live my life today. Amen. Randy

trusting God

Today is my first day of not going to the office. It is really weird. I have preached for 7 years that we need to do God's will and we need to put our trust in Him. It's much easier to preach this concept than live it. For a while now my wife and I have prayed for God's will to be done in our lives but we had no idea that meant we wouold be jobless. I lost my position as a youth minister this past Thursday. I believe I am still numb from the shock. We have cried enough tears to fill up a bathtub. I have lost a lot of sleep. We have no place to go and yet we continue to pray..."God, Your will be done."

We have no idea what the next step is going to bring. We only have our faith. Faith that God will take care of us in this new journey. If you know of any churches that need a pulpit or youth minister, contact me. Just leave me a comment and I will get it. Please keep us in your prayers. Randy

Bottled up Jesus

What would you say is the biggest problem one faces in telling people about Jesus? What keeps a teenager at school from living like Jesus amongst their peers? What is it that keeps Jesus all bottled up on the inside of us when we know that people are in need of Him? What is it that keeps us from doing “good deeds” and giving God the credit? Why do we have so much trouble in sharing God’s Word with the lost, asking them for a Bible study?

I know at WinterFest the top answer was “we just don’t care,” but I don’t think everyone necessarily thinks that. I know I care about people’s souls but I still don’t do all the things I should. I don’t take advantage of all the opportunities that God gives me. For instance, when I was the Meat Department manager for a grocery store I was the first person at the store and I would be there alone for about an hour or so. Occasionally, there would be this guy that came in to buff our floors. He got there earlier than I did. He was very friendly and we would have small conversations when he was there. He liked to tell jokes and they were always clean. On this particular morning he had told me a joke and for some reason I decided to be brave and ask him about his faith. He told me he was a Jehovah Witness. All of a sudden a fear came over me like “what am I going to do?” and “what am I going to say?” after all I didn’t know how to talk to a Jehovah witness! (this story took place about 12 years ago) I locked up! I didn’t say anything about my faith and I didn’t mention Jesus. After he left I felt so terrible. I was ashamed because I could not “Speak Up For Jesus.” I even had a couple of chances before he left but I could not bring myself to talk with this guy. I did what most of us do…I said to myself, “I’ll talk with him another day.” That “another day” never came. That guy was killed in a car wreck just a couple of days later. I felt horrible. I had a chance to share Jesus with this guy and I blew it! It still shakes me up to this very day! The very next person I came in contact with that I knew was lost, I shared Jesus to them.

What was my problem with sharing Jesus with this guy? FEAR. Fear that I wouldn’t know what to say if he asked questions. Fear that I wouldn’t say the right words or things. FEAR! And because of my fear, I let a lost man go without sharing with him Jesus and he died never getting another chance! I still wrestle with fear. I have so many ideas rolling around in my head to do for ministry but I am afraid to step out and do them. We have a new coffee shop in town where people hang out. I wanted to go and just sit and meet people there but I was afraid. I am writing this blog from here now. Fear is one of the biggest tools the enemy uses. We MUST overcome our fears. If we want to be a servant of Christ we must conquer! Think of the early church. When Jesus was first killed on the cross, do you remember what they were doing and where they were at? They were hiding out in someone’s house because they were afraid (John 20:19)! But not long after that they were filled with boldness and they risked their lives to tell people about Jesus. And because of their boldness, even facing death, the church served Christ and His blessings were upon them. They church grew exceedingly and became stronger and stronger.
We have overcome. We don’t have to be afraid. We are the winners! We have been filled with the Spirit of Christ and in Him, there is no fear. There are too many souls out there, all around us who need Jesus and we have Him to give. Go out and conquer in Jesus name! 2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.