We must lift more than Detroit in prayer

As I drive around running my daily errands and performing my daily daddy duties, I see many vehicles with “I lift Detroit in prayer” bumper stickers. I though to myself, that is awesome, I lift Detroit up too! But God placed this on my heart: It is not only Detroit that we must lift up; the state, the country, the world, world leaders (including our own), and numerous others. The Bible states that we are to pray for those in authority over us, that includes city, state, federal, and world leaders. 1Timothy 2:1-2 says, “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— 2for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness”. As you can see, praying for our leaders not only benefits them, it benefits us as well. Praying for those in authority over you keeps you focused on God and aligns your heart with the heart of Jesus. Jesus has the heart of a servant. Not had, but has; He is our Chief Intercessor with the Father. Therefore, He is still has a servant’s heart. Jesus Christ has all authority in Heaven and earth, but still chooses to serve by interceding for us day and night. That is the example that we are to model ourselves after.

When you enter your prayer space, I urge you to remember to pray for others, even your enemies, because that is what our Father desires of us. Just like your parents always told you, you should be the bigger person. Praying for your enemies is a Biblical concept. Jesus told us in Matthew 5:44, “But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”. If Jesus was able to pray for those who were killing Him while He hung on the Cross, we certainly can pray for those who talk bad about us or try to make us look bad. Just keep your eyes focused on Him who you follow and He will light your paths. My prayer is that we all change the world through prayer, one heart at a time.

.Until next time may God bless and keep you, and may His face shine upon you. To our Lord be praise and honor and glory and power, forever and ever. Amen.
But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. – Luke 6:35

Detroit Pistons, Michigan Wolverines, and the Body of Christ in a year of transition

This particular article is going to be one of my favorites to write, to due the fact that it contains two of my favorite subjects, God and sports. This is a unique year, because two of my favorite sports teams and the Body of Christ have something in common. 2010 is a year of transition for all parties named in this article. A year of transition indicates two things, first, this is going to be a year of stretching and growth; and second, everybody involved will feel the growing pains. As a member of the Body of Christ, I am already starting to feel the growing pains. Growing means change; change means stretching out of your comfort zone, hence the growing pains. You are being transformed out of the likeness of the world and more into His likeness. The pieces of you that were old are becoming new and it will take time for everything to fall into place and operate at optimum efficiency. God will tweak you piece by piece, bit by bit, and thought by thought until you are where He wants you. Sure, He could change you all at once, but you likely would fall apart under the pressure. That is why God allows for a transition phase as He takes you from glory to glory. So it is in the world of sports.

The Detroit Pistons, my favorite basketball team, are in a year of transition. They are adjusting to a new head coach, John Kuester. A new coach in the sports world means a new coaching system and style to learn for the players. In addition to the new head coach, the Pistons have also had numerous alterations to their roster. Key players in their world championship victories, such as Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace, are no longer with the team. Ben Wallace also moved on to the Chicago Bulls, but has returned to the Pistons. The Pistons were well known for their team mentality, that no one player is more valuable than another. But now there is a new team in place, with a new coach, and that group has to meld together. The melding process takes time to transition into a successful team. It will take the player learning the coaching system, the coach learning the players and their idiosyncrasies, and mixing that into a viable entity that will win basketball games.

The University of Michigan Wolverines is my favorite college football team. They, like the Pistons are also in the midst of transition. They acquired a new coach last season, along with numerous lineup changes. College football is an art to keep successful, because the lineup changes at least every four years. College players graduate, move on to professional football, or begin careers outside of football. The Wolverines these last few years have lost head coach Lloyd Carr to retirement, quarterback Chad Henne to the pros, and other key players, both offense and defense, to graduation. This new team is headed now by Rich Rodriguez, who has accepted the challenge to build a new team and work toward leading them to victory. This is a daunting task, building a successful enterprise almost from the ground up. Coach Rodriguez has to establish credibility with the rest of the coaching staff, the players, and then find and build leadership within the team. Assuming that he stays with Michigan for awhile, he faces this task again in four more years. Coach Rodriguez understands transition all too well.

The point of all of this is in Ephesians 4:15, which says, “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ”. Our entire mission as Christians is to grow up into Christ. How many know that is a ton of growth, which will not end until we go to be with Him. There will be pains as you grow, habits that you do not want to change, lifestyles you may not want to give up, people that you associate with that you should not, and words you speak that ought not to be spoken. These are but a few of the things that are in the midst of transition. For some it is a matter of not spending time in prayer or in God’s Word enough, drawing nigh to Him. Guilty as charged!! That is one of my growing pains at this current moment. A word of advice, do not let your schedules overwhelm you. Find your time with God. He will cause everything else to fall into place, as long as He is given first priority, for He alone is worthy. So as we venture into 2010 with our game faces on, ready to make the changes that will benefit us spiritually as well as other areas of our lives, remember that the growing pains will subside, and you will be a stronger, more beautiful creature in Christ in the end. Until next time may God bless and keep you, and may His face shine upon you. To our Lord be praise and honor and glory and power, forever and ever. Amen.

So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. – 1 Corinthians 3:7

Religion or relationship: Where do you stand?

When it comes to the subject of religion, situations can get downright ugly if not approached with a certain amount of tact and diplomacy. People will argue, fight, injure, or even kill for their religion. The Holy Wars of centuries past are proof of that. The question is, where do you stand? What exactly are you fighting for? Are you fighting for the religion itself, or for the God that is the Chief subject of your religion?

There are innumerable religions out there, and I am not here to bash or demean any of them. There are certain religions though, whose primary focus is on developing their own laws and ways of worship. The structure of some of these religions is inherently political. They have rules, regulations, and laws to be followed if one is to remain a devotee of that religion. To put it bluntly, religion is organized for man by man. There is a structure that is put in place by man according to his own rules for his own good pleasure. There is biblical strings tied in, but it does not devote itself to the true teachings of the bible. Most organized religions require a dutiful following but do not advocate spiritual growth. As long as you are in church every Sunday and you follow all the rules, all is well. Organized religion tends to pave to road to Heaven with good works, done by good people. That is great, but, that is not all that our Creator requires of us.

Our Creator is a loving, kind, merciful God, who created us in His image, to worship, adore, and glorify Him. He does not want us to be constantly solemn, moping and sorrowful, sulking in our sins. He wants us to repent, turn away from our sins, accept and believe the sacrifice of His Son on the Cross, and have a loving, deep, spiritual, intimate relationship with Him. God sent the Holy Spirit to dwell within us. That means God Himself, the Holy Spirit being His divine presence, lives within us. If God lives within us, that is a deep and intimate relationship. That is what He wishes with us. Jesus did not come only to save us from eternal damnation, but so that we may lead lives full of joy. God’s Word says so.

The question is clear, where do you stand? Are you worshipping the Lord in Spirit and in truth, or are you following rules and regulations made by man? God gives us each free will, so the choice is yours to make. The grace and mercies of our kind, benevolent loving God far outweigh solemn, miserable obedience out of a sense of duty. Intimate relationship with our Lord and Savior brings joy, peace, and blessings upon our lives. The joy of the Lord is our strength. Why not get your peace of the pie now?

Psalm 28:7 - The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.

Do you see what I see?

2 Timothy 3:1-7 speaks of godlessness in the last days. I can not speak for all, but I certainly see a trend building as we have moved into the 21st century. Actions that were considered intolerable only a decade ago have become the norm. A growing lack of respect for authority is causing a moral decay in our society. That lack of respect envelops law, parental authority, and spiritual authority. One needs only to look around them and they can observe 2 Timothy 3 unfolding before their very eyes. It is wondrous to watch the Scriptures come to life, yet disappointing to see what this world is coming to. Let us search the Scripture a bit deeper to see exactly how it is unfolding.


1But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. 6They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.

After reading this and reflecting on it, does one not see the Truth in it? Terrible times are spoken of. God is bringing the world to its knees, by any means necessary. He could let us destroy ourselves, but His Word says He will not. The Scripture says lovers of themselves, have you listened to the radio lately? Most music artists spend a majority of their songs tooting their own horn. That’s just one example. Lovers of money, we most certainly are. Most of America follows the CREAM principle (Cash Rules Everything Around Me). I am not exempt; I spent years chasing the almighty dollar. Boastful, we are a very boastful people, whose three favorite words are I, me, and my. We are proud, it is a rarity to hear glory given to God for the things He has done. People are always concerned with getting the “credit”. Disobedient to their parents, (have you seen Maury Povich or Jerry Springer lately). One only needs to go to the grocery store to see the lack of respect for parents these days. I see it there all the time. Ungrateful is extremely easy to see, simply take a trip to the nearest store or fast food restaurant. Most of the time, you are blessed to get a please or a thank you.

I am not going to cover the entire Scripture in this article, lest it turn into a novel. You can see by just a few examples, the Words of the Bible are indeed coming to pass right before our very eyes. Keep reading that passage of Scripture and making comparisons, you will see that every bit of it is Truth.

Saints, I did not point this out to show what a rotten world we live in, rather to show an open door to fulfill the Great Commission given to us by Jesus Christ. Matthew 28:16-20. Where you see these things take the opportunity to preach the Gospel or to show the love of Christ to another. Until next time, God bless to all.

Pastors: Full time with Benefits, or part-time and payless?

With October being Pastor Appreciation Month, it only makes sense to write an article on pastors. This subject tends to bring a ton of comments, through several avenues of media. Recently, I was listening to the Bob Dutko Show on 103.5, WMUZ, Detroit’s Christian station. He started a topic on whether or not pastors should be full time in ministry and receive a paycheck for it, or should they work outside of the church full time, and pastor the church part time. This particular article is my opinion on this subject, and Scriptures to support my opinion. I welcome comments and differences of opinion, and also any Scriptures present to back up your opinion. As we examine this issue, I urge my readers to carefully consider both sides of the topic.

My personal opinion on whether or not pastors should receive their living from preaching the Gospel is yes, they deserve to be paid for delivering the Word to the masses. Do not your cook and your waitstaff at your local diner get paid for feeding you? Your pastor feeds you as well; he or she feeds your spirit. The pastor of your church has made a full time commitment to your spiritual well being. They also deserve to be paid for the work they invest into bringing your spiritual banquet to you each week. 1 Timothy 5:17-18 says, “The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, ‘Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain and, ‘the worker deserves his wages.” If even the ox deserves pay of some sort while it is treading out the grain, how much more do pastors, who work the spiritual harvest fields, deserve to be paid? The Scripture also says that the worker deserves his wages.

Some would argue that pastors should work full time outside of the church to support their family, then after that, invest their time and energies into the church. The problem with that theory is family. If the pastor has a family and works 40 to 60 hours per week to support them, then invests another 20 to 30 hours into the church, when do they spend time with the family? Pastors work more than just an hour or two on Sunday morning. Hours of prayer, study of the Word, and prep time go into each sermon before it enters your ears. Then there is prayer for and with members of the congregation, various missions, fundraisers, and the infamous but necessary administrative duties that are part of running a church. The truth is, if these people were called by God into full-time ministry, then that is where their pay and provision should come from. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:11-12, “If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more?” The answer is: Yes, our pastors have sown spiritual seed among us, and they have the right to a material harvest from us. Jesus Himself even said in Luke 10:7, that the worker deserves his wages.(Emphasis mine). How can we argue with that?

I hope that this article shed some light on unknown areas for you. I do invite comments for or against this subject. Perhaps we can do a future article with others viewpoints. Since this is Pastor Appreciation Month, I do want to appreciate my pastors, Drs. Jerry and Sherill Piscopo, of Evangel Christian Churches in Roseville, MI. They are called by God to be apostles and prophets to the masses. They plant, build up, grow, and revitalize churches, here and around the world. I give glory to God for planting them in mine and my family’s lives. You are appreciated and loved. Until next time, God bless to one and all.

Homeostasis in the Body of Christ

There are comparisons in the Bible of parts of the Church to parts of the human body. Just as the human body needs all of its parts to function in harmony to maintain homeostasis, so does the church need all of its parts to function in harmony to maintain balance, the church’s homeostasis. Allow me to explain what homeostasis is. Homeostasis, in laymen’s terms, is a perfect state of balance within the body. The point where body temperature is at an ideal 98.6º F, pH levels are within tolerances, blood oxygen is high, and blood pressure is at an acceptable rate. God designed the body to work within specific guidelines. When the body goes outside of those guidelines, sickness or death can result. So it is within the Body of Christ.

God designed each and every one of us in a specific position within the Body of Christ. When we wander away from our position in the Body, we disrupt the balance, or homeostasis, of the Body of Christ. This is all outlined in 1 Corinthians 12:12-31. The Bible clearly states, in verse 13, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one Body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” If we are all one Body, then indeed all parts should function as the Body. All too often though, we wander off trying to be the lone hand or the lone foot. We take offense in our church, we pull up our roots and leave; or we refuse to cooperate and submit to the authority of our church leaders. This causes strife and division within the Body of Christ. Verse 18 says, “But in fact God has arranged the parts in the Body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be.” If He has arranged us in the Body as He wants us, who are we to choose and affect our own will into the situation. If there is strife or division or argument within the Body, it is up to us to bring peaceful resolution in a Christ-like manner. “The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” (1Corinthians 12:21-26) God is saying to the church, do not be divided, you all need each other. You are set in place by Me to glorify Me. You as a Body cannot bring glory and honor to the Lord if you are scattered and torn apart.

Saints, we need to pull together in these end times. Jesus died on the Cross that we might be forgiven our sins. And He rose from the grave to prove that death was overcome. We possess the power to overcome, to overcome division, strife, disloyalty, unforgiveness, and mistrust. We must take hold of this power, given to us by the Holy Spirit, and break the cycle of division. We must pull together as one Body, in homeostasis, with perfect balance, to glorify our Creator and win souls to His Kingdom. Until next time, God bless to all.

Are We Fulfilling the Great Commission?

Just over 2000 years ago, between the time that He died on the cross as our Passover Lamb, and when He ascended to the right hand of the Father, Jesus Christ commissioned us. That commission was given to the apostles, but applies just as much to all of us today as it did to them. Jesus died to save the lost, and it is our job to lead them to Him. That is the essence of the Great Commission. The Commission is found in Matthew 28:16-20. “Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw Him, they worshipped Him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in Heaven and Earth has bee given to Me. 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.”

To make disciples of all nations, we need to know what a disciple is. According to the NIV bible dictionary, a disciple is a follower or student, especially one who believes what the leader teaches. Anyone who believes in Jesus is His disciple. Any born again believer, by that definition, is a disciple. Those disciples are commissioned to go forth and make more disciples through all the earth. The Great Commission is the heartbeat of the evangelistic movement. It commissions us to win souls for the Kingdom of God. That is the essence of every non-denominational church that I have been to. In Mark 1:17, Jesus calls His disciples, saying, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men”. The Lord called them to fish souls for the Kingdom out of the great sea of humanity. Those apostles fulfilled their part of the commission, and great numbers were added every day.

What about us? Are we doing our part to fulfill the Great Commission? Not from what I have seen. If we were, there would be less empty seats in the churches. The world would not be going to hell in a hand basket. There seems to be an evil tone throughout a large portion of the world. The kind of tone one would imagine permeated during the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. People are less centered on Jesus and more centered on self. We need to get an evangelistic spirit, going forth, finding those lost, hurting, broken souls in need of a Savior. Then introducing them to that Savior who has already suffered all that afflicts them, who died for them, and now offers them healing, salvation, and a more abundant life. Jesus commissioned all who believe in Him to bring the lost to Him, are you doing your part?