Useless to God

The closer you get.

drspotts — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 19:55:55 +0000

Have you ever noticed that when you go through a time of renewal or refreshing and you really feel like you are turning a corner in your relationship with the Lord you become even more disgusted with your sin nature. The apostle Peter experienced this first hand when Jesus asked Peter to follow him. Peter said “I can’t because I am too sinful.” In one of the most beautiful responses in history, Jesus basically said “You’re with me now.”

How amazining is it to know that we are with Him now. It says in Ephesians that we are “in Jesus.” We were walking dead but because of Jesus we will live forever.

Posted in Belief

David Wilkerson’s Warning

drspotts — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 19:46:34 +0000

Do youself a favor and read two of David Wilkerson’s books about the financial status of America. He basically wrote 10 years ago what is happening today.

Warning: The books have the same sobering effect as jumping into freezing water.

Posted in Belief, Economy

How to be like my mom.

drspotts — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 03:38:51 +0000

My mom was an amazing example of what it means to have faith. As I mentioned in a previous post, she had stage 4 colon cancer (of which she died just last week) and her husband of 41 years left her alone to deal with it about 5 years ago. Even though she wasn’t miraculously healed or anything, went through a “mother” of a storm at the end of her life and she didn’t even almost loose faith in the King. At her funeral, people were able to really get a picture of her personality and her integrity and as a result I have had a couple of people ask me what my mom’s “trick” was to having faith. I was one of those people.

The answer is there is no trick. My flesh nature wishes there were a special method or trick to having extreme faith. Hell the Pharisees tried to tell everybody there was a special “way to live.” A life of certain rules and fasting and long prayers. But Jesus told them they were all high and full of the devil.

We have to do what my mom did. “What did she do?” you say. She did stuff daily. Like pray and read daily. She memorized much scripture. She told me that she didn’t do this her whole life, but she begged me to start as soon as possible to dedicate time to Jesus. Just alone time. No agenda. Quiet, peaceful time to meditate on Jesus and what he would have you do, learn, read, watch, talk to etc….

I can tell you that if I just say to myself “I want to be like my mother” but I don’t do what she did, I will be nothing like her.

Posted in Belief, Faith

Something is up?

drspotts — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 04:28:00 +0000

It feels like the world needs to puke. Does anybody else feel that way? Experience says, “when a barf is brewing there is no fighting it.” It’s unavoidable. Like the morning sun. It will happen.

Every sector is the world seems to have eaten the same bad egg salad. Nobody is spared.

Are we at apocalypse? Is it time to start stockpiling rice and beans from Sam’s?

Posted in Economy

The Pain of Faith

drspotts — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 03:23:43 +0000

Sometimes (ok…not sometimes, Always)… Having faith is the hardest, most painful thing we can do as people. Preachers often glamorize faith to be something like a super power but in reality, faith is believing when it makes no sense to believe.

My mom has liver cancer and has been sent home to die. She has served the Lord her whole life and has been a very good example for me and my sisters my whole life. After 40 years of marriage, and right before she was diagnosed with cancer, my Dad left her alone for another woman. The first 60 years of here life seemed to make sense. The last 4 seem to have been a cruel joke to a person that lived a Godly life.

Ironically, she still has faith. Her faith is not in an answer. Her faith is in a person. She still believes that Jesus knows what he is doing. Turns out a mature faith is not focused on the answer you want, it should only be focused on who the answer is from.

Posted in Belief, Faith

Living and yet not Living

drspotts — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 02:03:26 +0000

Today I really felt as if I am living in the world and yet not living in the way in which Christ set out for me to live. Do you ever feel like a “Christ Governed Life” is too challenging given the impulses and desires of the flesh nature we all have? Today I did. Today it seems too hard for me. I feel too weak and wore down by this life to really excel in an overcoming way.

I know however that what i am feeling is just a feeling. It is not Bible. This too shall pass.

Posted in Uncategorized

I quit the Republicans

drspotts — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 02:24:02 +0000

I officially quit the Republicans. She finally did it. I’m out.

Posted in Politics

Personal Fire

drspotts — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 23:17:15 +0000

Our only hope is personal fire. When personal fire happens all the other stuff happens on its own. Ironically though, you can do all of the other stuff without having personal fire.

Highly disciplined people can quit sinning. Pagans can do good deeds. Only personal fire can die a martyrs death. Only personal fire can deal with unspeakable horrors and remain committed to love and forgiveness.

I believe the remedy for me is personal fire. All else will be consumed.

Posted in Belief, Devotion

God’s Foreclosure Message

drspotts — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 20:16:58 +0000

I am totally convinced that God is sending a message to America in the form of the housing crisis. The parrallels are everywhere and the message is simple, “You are about to loose your Heavenly home.” We can no longer service the religious debts we have. Our simple “raise your hand if you want to be a Christian” approach to salvation is the equivalent of the “no income verification” mortgage. The $700,000,000,000 bailout is our attempt to attach a value to some level of works we have committed in an effort to show value. I love the phrase “il-liquid.” When something is il-liquid it means that it cannot be converted into cash or gold. You could argue (as Ron Paul did) that that means it is presently worthless. Needless to say, my works are some of the most il-liquid in the market.

Jesus told us to come buy gold from him that has been refined by fire. Gold that has eternal value. We are just like the American economy. Foreclosure is eminent. We have been indulging in religion. Like homes and neighborhoods, we have created all manner of church and christian. Move-up, beginner, empty nester, condo, vacation. The insincerity of church makes my skin crawl. I feel dirty like I just took part in something that I shouldn’t have.

I say these things because they are just coming out of me. God has been ripping my hypocrisy so badly that it has made me feel sickly. We have inflation in our spiritual life. We do more “christian things” but the don’t give us the same feeling that they use to. When you are not in relation with Jesus you seek to do things for him and about him that don’t even register with him. I am the guilty party as much as anybody. We are living in Revelation 3 as we speak and the only hope is to find and hold onto the only sound investment. Salvation gold.

Posted in Belief, church, Economy

Heaven is our Home

drspotts — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 02:05:12 +0000

Since I have started traveling quiet a bit I have begun to think of “home” in a new way. No, this post doesn’t end with “home is where your heart is.” The phrase has been taken and therefore I can’t use it. It is a good phrase though. They use it at Cracker Barrel.

When I am gone I think about the nature of my beautiful wife, the laughing of my children and the great time we have just enjoying each other. When I am away I try to recreate those feeling by eating at places the whole family would like, by singing songs that they sing and by looking at other families with children and thinking “I know the joy that mom and dad feel.” Then I usually shed a couple of hidden tears and I pray for my family at home. I don’t just miss my family; I am not whole without them. I always tell my kids that they are my two arms and without them I am effectively disabled. This is the kind of crazy love that Jesus has for us.

Kathryn Scott wrote a song called “Heaven is our Home” that is so amazingly accurate to how I feel that it makes me joyful every time I think about it. She says “Where we reign forever.” “Every sorrow gone. We will rejoice forever.” We need more focus on our real home. Home is in the presence of Jesus.

When we realize that Heaven is even more home than our earthly family and surroundings we become fully obsessed with being with Jesus. Being truly Home.