Why Praise God?

Why should we praise God? Ever think about it? There was nobody who had an eternal perspective in the Old Testament than David. From Shepherd boy to General to King, he always looked beyond his present situation to the One True God.

In Psalm 116:1-3 David writes, "I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave [a] came upon me. I was overcome by trouble and sorrow."

This morning I sat in the living room of my friends, Eric and Paula Winter. The pastors and elders of our church were there as well. Just 24 hours earlier we had all received the devastating news that a CT Scan revealed cancer in Paula's colon and liver. She had no idea. And the medical prognosis is not good. But we prayed. We worshiped, and we called on the Lord. In my daily Bible reading was Psalm 116. David recounts his trouble and sorrow, but not to pity himself, but to show the greatness of God. We don't praise God because things go well. We praise God because he is good. We don't stop praising God when things go bad. We praise God because he is full of compassion. We don't praise God because it fills us up. We praise God because he delivered us from death. We praise him because he is God, he is Good, and his mercies are new every day. Please Join me in prayer for Paula's complete cancer-free recovery. I will close with the conclusion of David's Psalm. Read it and remember why we praise God.


Then I called on the name of the LORD :"O LORD, save me!"
The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.
The LORD protects the simple-hearted; when I was in great need, he saved me.
Be at rest once more, O my soul,for the LORD has been good to you.
For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
I believed; therefore I said, "I am greatly afflicted."
And in my dismay I said,"All men are liars."
How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.
I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people.
Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
O LORD, truly I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant; you have freed me from my chains.
I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the LORD.
I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people,
in the courts of the house of the LORD—in your midst, O Jerusalem.Praise the LORD.

Stop Griping

Stop Griping (from Psalm 105-106, 2 Corinthians 3)

Psalm 106:7-8 (NIV) "When our fathers were in Egypt, they gave no thought to your miracles; they did not remember your many kindnesses, and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea. Yet he saved them for his name's sake, to make his mighty power known."
People are complainers. Christians are the worst. This should not be, but it always is. David recounts in these Psalms the goodness of the Lord from Abraham to Moses. How God saved, and provided, and loved, and had mercy time and time again. In our rebellion, he saves us. Why? Because he promised he would. And when he saves us, even when we complain and are ungrateful, it makes his mighty power known. I so often gripe about my situations, lot in life, or bills I can’t pay. And when I do, I forget the God who has given me blessing after blessing. I daily need to be saved from myself, so that I can “Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.” (Psalm 105:1) In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul addresses the Christians as mere infants, who argued and complained, and wanted their own way. Dear Lord, help me to focus on Jesus, to remember your blessings, to grow up and stop being a baby. Help me to remember that you came to save. Help me to make that message known to the nations. Amen.

Getting Robbed

Suppose you were held at gunpoint and robbed. What a scary thought. Then suppose the robber said, "Give me 10% of all you have in your wallet." You give him the 10% and he takes off. How do you feel now. Pretty lucky I suppose. Yet when God says, "Give me 10% of your first fruits (the income you earn), many say "uh-no." Yet God promises that if we give of our income, he will bless us until we can't contain it. Sometimes those blessings are financial, But often times they are spiritual blessings that are far more valuable than we can even imagine. God also says that when we don't give, we rob him, and in turn we rob ourselves and the people around us of the blessings God wants to pour out.

Being in ministry, we haven't always made a ton of money, and have often gotten stuck in situations that looked impossible. But we've also been blessed. One person who blessed us was our Pastor Mike Smith who performed our wedding. As poor college students, we didn't have any money to give him. So we promised each other that we would bless him if we were blessed. And we were in one of those desperate situations, really needing a car, but having no way to pay for one. One day, someone handed us an envelope with $1000 in it. We were shocked! But we wanted to keep our promise, so we sent half of it to Pastor Mike, and kept the other half. $500 wasn't enough to buy a car, but we were happy for the blessing. The next week we got a thank you card from Pastor Mike. He wrote that his washer and dryer both died the previous week, and that they didn't know how they could afford new ones. Then he received our gift. We couldn't believe it. Then a week later someone handed us a box. It contained 50 $100 bills! We were blown away! That was enough to buy a nice used car!

If we really believe that God is really God and all knowing, then he knows our needs. And he is faithful to meet them. When we give our lives and our finances to God, he sees it. He knows he can trust us with spiritual riches. Trusting God with our 10% of our income seems like a no brainer when you think about it. Trusting him with everything we have seems to be the only wise choice. Trust Him, he is Good!

How Much is your Bible Worth To You

How Much is your Bible worth to you? Bible are on sale at stores from $1.00 to $90.00 depending on quality, size and content. It has been announced that the original Joseph Smith Family Bible is going up for auction and expected to sale for $1.5 Million. Here in Utah, that's a big thing. There is great admiration for Joseph Smith here. His name is sacred to many. So the Bible he owned is worth millions. How much is your Bible worth to you? Hopefully it's priceless. Hopefully you read it, memorize it, and live out it's principles. Hopefully you trust that the Bible is God's Word, not man's word. Because no man can trump the Bible. If the Bible says it, and man says the opposite, then man is wrong. If the Bible says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast"(Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV) and man says that salvation is earned, then man is wrong. If man says that grace must be earned and that your works achieve for you eternal reward, and the Bible says, "And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." (1 John 5:11) If God gives us the gift of eternal life, then why should we ever try to earn it. Even the Bible says, "Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. 5However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness." (Romans 4:3-5) So if you're lucky enough to win the bid for the Joseph Smith Bible, remember: Read it, and if man says the opposite, man is wrong.



ksl.com - Joseph Smith family Bible goes on sale

My Friends

I have great friends! The last 12 months has been a long year. I have been an interim campus pastor at K2 The Church South Campus along with my buddy Brad Olsen. This on top of our regular jobs, mine as Children's Director, and Brad as Arts Director. In the long hours, endless meetings and conversations, and managing change, I have learned much. First, I have learned that good friends rise to the occasion when the pressure rises. Many of my friends have joined in the sacrifice and long hours. We were not alone in this because we had friends who loved us, cared for us, and carried our burdens with us.

Galatians 6:2 says, "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." I am so grateful for my friends. I'm so grateful that my friendship with Brad has deepened. I am thankful to Jesus that he has brought us all together in Utah to reach this community for Him.

This week, we move from one house to another house. And guess who is helping. All my friends. Thank You.

Next Month, my 3rd Daughter will be born. I am thankful that even during all the trials we have faced at our church, that our family is closer than it ever has been. Again, Thank you to all our friends who have supported us, made us meals when we were sick, and took care of our kids when we needed help.

This year I am declaring a year of rest. In Matthew 11:28 Jesus says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." I want to rest in Jesus' presence. I want to receive from him the rest only he can give. Not to be lazy but to be rested up for the next adventure he has for me and my family.

Thank you my friends. I pray for you always that Christ will bless you and use you mightily!