Flip It

"Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar, "Your threat means nothing to us. If you throw us in the fire, the God we serve can rescue us from your roaring furnace and anything else you might cook up, O king. But even if he doesn't, it wouldn't make a bit of difference, O king. We still wouldn't serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up." -- Daniel 3:16-18, MSG

You've heard the saying "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade," But there's a new catch phrase out there that people are using and even making shows about. It's called "Flip It" -- take a bad situation and flip it into a good one.

I recently heard my pastor say that he is waiting for the day when someone facing a challenge calls him up and says, "Pastor, get over here, there's a miracle about to happen." But most often the calls are more along the lines of "Pastor, my whole life is falling apart!"

What if we really took hold of the mindset of the Kingdom and treated every negative situation, every sickness and disease, every disappointment and trial, like a miracle-minded opportunity for God to show Himself strong on behalf of His people? God invented the term "flip it" -- Romans 8:28!

Publish It

"Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you. Christ himself wrote it - not with ink, but with God's living Spirit; not chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives - and we publish it." -- 2 Corinthians 3:2-3, The Message

Heard this great quote today: "Everything you say or do tells me something about you." In other words, our actions and our speech serve as the publisher for the letter we're writing to the world everyday. We are telling the world around us who we are and whose we are. What are you publishing?

Do It Well

"If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.'" MLK

"Work hard and cheerfully at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and the Master you are serving is Christ." -- Colossians 3:23-24

Color Outside The Lines

"Train up a child according to the tenor of his way, and when he is old he will not depart from it." -- Proverbs 22:6

If you're familiar with the "True Colors" test you will know that "golds" do not color outside the line. I'm a gold, but my children and grandchildren are not. When my daughter sent me this picture of my grandsons painting their room it gave me great delight. They are obviously having a great time, but more importantly, my daughter doesn't seem to be stressed by the potential mess. There are no perfectly placed drop cloths, no painter's tape to mark off "forbidden" areas, and no painter's smocks on the boys. I love that about my daughter and I love that she is raising her boys in the "tenor" to which God created them. :)

Mirror Mirror

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in someone else's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" -- Luke 6:41

I recently read an article entitled, "Dear Me."  It was quite eye opening. It began by stating that although you many not realize it, the traits you dislike (and admire) in others are probably traits you also possess. The article went on to suggest that we often bewail the very traits in others that reflect our own tendencies or actions. Here are three examples from the article:

"My boss is incredibly secretive. It's so unhealthy--he's creating a culture of concealment. But don't tell anyone I said so."

"I can't believe my kid has been smoking pot--I'm so upset, I've had to double my anxiety medication."

"I wish I could get my sister to stop tearing herself down. I mean, she's not a total loser like me."

I think the author is on to something. Luke 6:41 tells us to get the plank out of our own eye before trying to remove sawdust from our brother's eye. Could it be that the sawdust in our brother's eye reminds us of the plank we struggle with? This article has caused me to become a little more reflective about the traits in others that seem to get under my skin.

Today's prayer: "Search ME, O God, and know my heart! Try ME and know my thoughts!" -- Psalm 139:23

Labor Day

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." -- Colossians 3:23


People are curious and will often ask each other, "What do you do for a living?" And I think we tend to grade the answers on a sliding scale; subconsciously determining which jobs are more important than others. This drives me insane. Whether we believe it or not we have all been strategically placed by God to accomplish good works which He has determined (Eph. 2:10). Our job is to bring the kingdom of heaven to earth and God determines our vocation -- we can't all be "VP" -- in fact, servant-minded is kingdom-minded, so the next time you encounter someone in a "servant" position, stop and think twice about "grading" their vocation -- because in the kingdom those who are "least" are greatest. Happy Labor Day!

Announcing: The Burn Room

Passion for your house consumes me ...

The Burn Room is a place to worship, pray, and soak in God’s presence.

When / Where: Second Friday of each month, beginning October 14, from 7-9 pm in the Sanctuary at Oxford Church of God, 5450 College Corner Rd, Oxford.

What goes on at The Burn Room?

The OHOP band will lead worship for 2 hours, from 7-9 pm. We allow the Holy Spirit to move as He sees fit. Feel free to come and go; worship will be continuous. We encourage you to engage your heart fully and worship freely (sit, stand, kneel, dance, etc.)

What if I need/want prayer?

We would love to pray for you! Just look for someone in "The Burn Room" shirts and we’ll take it from there.

The Burn Room is a ministry of the Oxford House of Prayer: www.oxfordhouseofprayer.com

OUR MISSION:
Transforming lives through prayer.

OUR VISION:
To be a place where people can engage their hearts fully in the presence of God through praise, prayer, and power.

 Come experience The Burn Room. 

Paid In Full

"But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth." -- Deuteronomy 8:18

"And my God will supply all [my] needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." -- Philippians 4:19

Last night as I was sitting on my bed paying this month's bills, and listening to worship music, I received a text from a friend asking what I was doing. I replied, "Paying bills and worshiping God." The reply came back, "those two things don't seem to go together."

And therein came the challenge. Paying bills should be an act of worship because my God has supplied all of my needs according to HIS riches in glory. There is no lack in the kingdom. When I pay the electric bill I can thank God that I have electricity because 1/4 of the world's population does not. And when I pay the water bill, I can thank God that I have water -- cold and hot -- on demand -- 24/7. Such luxuries to those without.

So, yes, paying bills is [or should be] an act of worship and from this point on I will be more deliberate in turning this task into worship. So grab those bills and get your praise on!

Was Prayer To Blame?

"So Moses went out of the town, and stretching out his hands made prayer to God: and the thunders and the storm came to an end; and the fall of rain was stopped." -- Exodus 9:33

I sat astounded at the news reports. Some read as if the watching world is disappointed that Hurricane Irene did not cause more damage or claim more lives. Some blame the media for dire predictions that did not come to pass (see excerpt below). Did we not pray and did God not hear and answer our prayers? Let's not blame the media or the politicians for what has been spared. Let's blame prayer!

"The media spooked Americans with dire predictions of historic destruction that the storm didn't quite deliver. Public service or unnecessary fear-mongering? Hurricane Irene — which was downgraded Sunday to Tropical Storm Irene — dumped water all along the East Coast this weekend, flooding towns, washing out roads, and blowing down trees from North Carolina's Outer Banks to Vermont's border with Canada. It was bad — at least 22 people died — but it was hardly the "end-times scenario" warned of on cable TV and by local and national politicians. In fact, "there seems to be a growing consensus that the storm was overblown by the media, says Charlie Spiering in The Washington Examiner."

Hurricane Irene

"The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!" -- Matthew 8:27

Today's prayer: "Father, the winds and waves obey your voice. Please speak peace to this storm and to all in its path. Amen."