Meet Mike

Mike gets up before most people. He reads the Bible, prays, and drinks a few cups of coffee. He may write a new series and/or work on the message that he will teach that weekend before he goes to the gym to train people. After the gym, he will come home and study more. I will hear him on the phone at different times, listening to people bare their souls to him because they are in desperate straits. He will often meet people for lunch who need help, words of wisdom, guidance, the truth spoken in love, or maybe just a listening ear. Mike has a HEART for people. He wants to see people THRIVE in the Lord, no longer chained to any addiction, carrying the guilt of their past, weighted down by shame, or feeling hopeless because He knows Jesus has a purpose for their lives no matter what they have done or where they have been. He always gives people the benefit of the doubt, even if they have shown who they really are because he wants to see the best in people. When he hears a need, he will do everything he can to meet that need or find someone who can. Mike is also one of the most generous people I have ever met, always looking for ways to bless other people even if it is a small gesture. He enjoys GIVING and gets great delight out of being generous, seeing people smile from ear to ear! It is one of his gifts from Jesus. Mike would be one to give the shirt off his back. When Mike was preaching one weekend a man came up to him. He told Mike how much he loved the necklace that he always wore. Even though it was Mike's favorite necklace, he took it off and gave it to the man. Here’s another story I love… Mike had a seat in first class, but when he saw a woman in the military going back to her seat, he immediately got up and offered her his seat in first class.

Mike loves to study the Bible. His face lights up when the Holy Spirit reveals something new to him that he has never seen before. He gets so excited like a kid in a candy store. Mike is tough, but he is also very tender. He does not like hurting or disappointing people. He will be the first to tell you he is human like the rest of us, with a carnal nature he has to crucify daily. When he fell, he had to deal with the consequences because Jesus would not be a just God if there were no consequences to sin, but he also had to deal with an enormous weight of guilt because of his position. He had to deal with not only the shame, guilt, regret, and embarrassment of what he did on a larger scale than most of us would have to experience, he also had to deal with stones being thrown at him, coming at him from every direction. There were also lies being spread, people gossiping, and assumptions people felt were just not true. He could have tried to tell his side of the story, refuting the lies, but instead, he chose to take all of this to the One who had forgiven him because Mike had repented of his sins. Mike knew that prayer could do more than what he could write or share because Jesus hears us when we call. Jesus can work within people's hearts. The enemy and his own heart tried to convince him that he was useless, telling him that he had no purpose from God anymore.....But God. The Lord drew Mike away for a time so he could write, "Death by Church; Life through Christ: Hope for the Hopeless." Mike found himself being the "pen of a ready writer." It was as if God put his hand over Mike's hand and just started writing....and writing...and writing. The Lord inspired Mike and the words came out effortlessly. The Lord used this to bring healing to Mike and remind him that, even though people might have "disqualified" him, the One who had him in the palms of His hands, Jesus Christ did not. Jesus reminded Mike of all the people in the Bible who failed miserably, but God still used them greatly. The only person Mike needed to please was the One who gave His life for him. Mike is also very humble. He does not see why people would want to hear him teach when so many other pastors are much more qualified than him, but he knows it is God's calling on his life. Mike truly wants to bring the Lord glory. He wants people to know Jesus and for them to experience His transforming power!!! He knows he is an imperfect man, perfectly loved by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Are you thankful that Jesus can use sinners?! There would be no hope for any of us if God required perfection!! If you are reading this and are wondering, “Can Jesus still use me? Does He still have a purpose for me?” The answer is, “Yes, He does.” "But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” (1 Corinthians 1:27) God does not require perfection. He is looking for hearts that are fully surrendered to Him. I want to end on this. Let's get to know people. Let's not base our perception of them on something they have done or a mistake they have made. Can you imagine if God did that with us?! #onwardandupward

It’s A Wonderful Life

I just watched it’s a “ It’s Wonderful Life.” I have seen this movie several times, but this movie spoke to me a little differently this time. Have you ever read or watched something and got something different from it, no matter how many times you read or watched it?! They don’t seem to make feel good, sweet movies like this anymore. In “It’s a Wonderful Life,” George Bailey sacrificed most of his dreams and gave up so much on behalf of the people in his small town of Bedford Falls. On Christmas Eve, George finds himself hopeless, broken, and suicidal when his Uncle Billy misplaced $8,000 which was found and stolen by Mr.Potter. George thought his life was worth more dead than alive. On a snowy, wintry night he runs to a bridge. As he contemplates jumping into the rushing water, his guardian angel, Clarence, jumps into the freezing water because he knew George would jump into save him instead of taking his own life.

Clarence shows George what life would be like if he had never been born. He got to see the impact he had on so many people’s lives and what he meant to so many people. After seeing what it would be like if he had never been born, George says, “I want to live again.”

George wasn’t perfect, but he had a purpose/calling. If you are breathing, the Lord has a UNIQUE purpose for you, that He wants YOU to fulfill. I heard this today at church, “God is a God who keeps His promises in spite of sin.” The Lord doesn’t write you off like some may do, for He has you engraved on the “palms of His hands.” (Isaiah 49:16) You aren’t worthless to God because of your past mistakes or the mess you might have made. You have great worth in the eyes of the Father… and that is priceless. He wants to use you. He wants to make you new. He wants your life to bring Him great glory! Do you know what he wants?! A surrendered heart.

“Remember, no man is a failure who has friends." We have the Greatest Friend, Jesus Christ. I pray He floss your soul with Hope this Christmas season, reminding you that He is the God of wonders and nothing is impossible with Him.