October 31, 2009 ~ Who Is Your Boss?

Who is in charge of you? Who do you work for?

Today's scripture:

Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.

Colossians 3:23-24

AIDS barely had a name before Dr. Daniel began working with patients stricken by the dread disease. Over the years as a university hospital doctor and a specialist in infectious diseases, he has spent many hours by the bedsides of people dying of diseases like AIDS. At times Dr.Dan's patients have told him stories of bad situations they've faced and of the rejection they've received from people who they thought loved the. Dr. Dan listens, prescribes medicine, and encourages their souls.

It Isn't only the AIDS patients who appreciate Dr.Dan's care. From the sick people he encounters and the students he teaches to the foreign interns working in his office and friends, everyone feels a physical or spiritual healing touch when Dr.Dan is around. Not surprisingly, Dr.Dan is starting to become a nationally know specialist for his work. Ask Dr.Dan why he works so hard and invests himself in other people's lives so freely, and he'll tell you,

"It's the job God has for me. It's the way he uses me. Since God is my boss, I do my best."

Maybe your job isn't that of physician, saving lives and helping ailing people. Maybe you work with a room full of rowdy elementary students. If you consider God as your real boss, you can make a difference where you are. Maybe you work all day filing records or like me pushing paper and moving mountains of data. If God is your true boss and your filing records the best you can, you will get your reward that matters the most.

Selah people' and friends if you do your best and realize that you work for God, you'' find joy and satisfaction in your job whatever it is, and God will reward you.

"You and I work for the man upstairs as they say...Our God is great and nothing can be done except through Him. Join me in remembering that whatever the task at hand is it can only be accomplished by God's grace."

October 30, 2009 ~ "Come Over Darlin'"

Do you ever want to get back to that place when you were close?

Today's Scripture:

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

James 4:8

When Grace and Bruce were young, they loved to be together all the time. They especially liked riding in Bruce's car. If Grace was sitting near the door, soon Bruce would take a corner sharply, which slid Grace toward him. "That's a COD corner, honey," he'd always say. "Come over, darlin'." Grace would always respond with a giggle and slip next to Bruce, where he could put his arm around her and they could snuggle as they rode along.

The years passed, and the two got married and started a family. During those early years, Grace would still slip in next to Bruce when he drove. They even still bought cars with bench seats, but somewhere along the way, Grace stopped sliding over. The kids were in high school when one day Grace and Bruce were in the car together. She looked at Bruce and said, "We always used to snuggle so close in the car, even after the kids came along. But now you're way over there, and I'm way over here." She sighed. "What happened to us?"

Bruce looked at Grace and smiled.

He said, "Well, I'm where I've always been. I guess you're the one who's moved."

With that, Grace grinned from ear to ear and slid back over next to Bruce.

Selah people' and friends the story about Bruce and Grace is fun and takes us back to a different time, but it also illustrates a serious principle. Do you ever feel distant from God? If you want to draw closer to him, just scoot closer. In your own relationships have they moved away from you or are you keeping your distance from them. Today could be they day that you make a change and make a move.

"God never moves away from you. He's where he's always been - just waiting to be beside you in the "Honey Seat" of life. Move a little nearer to Him today."

Your pastor,

Rev Patrick Muston ~ Via mobile: Mount Olive, NC 28365

Selah Christian Church Disciples of Christ

Four Oaks, NC ~ http://selahchurch.com/

For those of us in relationships...God can do all things and so can you!

NEW VIDEO! Sara Groves - It's Me ~ "If you are in Love don't give up!"


http://www.tangle.com/view_video?viewkey=4680eb428c5cb0101aab&utm_source=newsletter1029&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weeklytopvideos

Our God is a big God and a loving God and yet he is there for you and I. Yesterday we shared the word on real intimacy and that special relationship with God. In our other relationships in our life may we not give up on those we love. For those of us blessed in marriage our vow says, "Forsaking all others."

The Bible says, In Matthew 19:5 "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh".

Time and experience in marriage reveal that being "one flesh" does not mean an abdication or relinquishing of our personality or personal rights. Rather, it is a fulfillment of those things.

Selah people' and friends remember that it takes time and effort. Love must be given the opportunity to mature. When the going gets rough, a couple doesn't just "fall out of love"; they stay together and work things out. They don't consider themselves as martyrs of a "bad bargain," but "heirs together of the grace of life" as God's word shares in (1 Peter 3:7). "Each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband" (Ephesians 5:33).

"Problems and differences are resolved through forgiveness please join me in mending our relationships and not trying to find an easy way to make ourselves happy without the work. This song by Sara helped me to remember His word for us today: "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you" (Ephesians 4:32)"

Your pastor,

Rev Patrick Muston ~ Via mobile: Mount Olive, NC 28365

Selah Christian Church Disciples of Christ

Four Oaks, NC

October 28, 2009 ~ Real Intimacy...

God is standing at the door...will you let Him in?

Today's Scripture:

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and eat with you, and you will eat with me.

Revelation 3:20

You know the old Uncle Sam slogan from wartime: "I want you." God has a similar slogan: "I want intimacy with you."

Jesus spoke through John to the church at Laodicea. It was a rich church, endowed with all kinds of wonderful things - buildings, treasure, and big group of people. But Jesus said they were poor because they were lukewarm. They weren't hot, and they weren't cold. Jesus used the terms to identify a person's commitment to him. A hot person was all out, doing all he or she could for God. A cold person had no relationship with God, and shunned him avoiding the relationship at all cost. The Lukewarm person stood in the middle, not really committed, not all out, not willing to try anything for God, but just trying to survive from day to day.

For such lukewarm people, Jesus gave an invitation: open the door, and let's talk and eat, have fellowship, intimacy, and all the good things that come with a real relationship.

God has expressed a desire to know you through and through and to have you know him.

His desire it to ignite a real passion for good in you. His desire is for you to throw open the door, invite him in, and say, "Yes, let's have the kind of relationship you want with everyone." God's desire is for you to be a hot person for him. Will you choose today to be a hot person for Christ?

Selah people' and friends God stands at the door, but you have to open the door. He is there, waiting, ready, and eager. You matter to him, and he wants you to enjoy him as well as know about him.

"I speak the same message that John shared at Laodicea to you today. Don't stand in the middle that is the worst place you could be. Let us open the door and allow God into to our lives and stop just getting by doing what we want to do. May we do the plans of God and be fully intimate with our savior."

Your pastor,

Rev Patrick Muston ~ Via mobile: Mount Olive, NC 28365

Selah Christian Church Disciples of Christ

Four Oaks, NC

Lighter Side: Medication Side Effects...Tim Hawkins

http://www.tangle.com/view_video?viewkey=1b1ab18191a852120231&utm_source=newsletter1028&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weeklytopvideos

Sometimes it is those real life problems we face that can put a smile on your face. Hope your having a good week. God Bless you and don't take your life too seriously let's mull it over. Take time today to laugh a little.

Patrick

October 27, 2009 ~ "When God Gives You a Time-Out"

Regardless of our age when God disciplines us

we need to accept it and ask him to forgive us and move on.

Today's Scripture:

I correct and punish those whom I love. So be eager to do right, and change your hearts and lives.

Revelation 3:19

Anyone who has worked with or raised small children is familiar with time-outs. When a child refuses to obey, smacks another tot, or infringes on other rules, he or she may be escorted to a chair for the time-out - often one minute per age. This gentle discipline system is designed to make kids stop, think about what they're doing, and make better choices. After the time-out is over, the child is free to rejoin the excitement.

As children grow up, their parents stop disciplining them, but even grownups sometimes still feel God's hand of correction. Different people respond in various manners when they face God's discipline. Some argue and refuse to admit they did anything wrong, or they put the blame on someone else. Others not only agree with God that they've done something wrong, but they also use the opportunity to beat themselves up emotionally - to go into a depression and think of how horrible they are. They hang on to the fact that they've don something wrong, and feel like a failure.

Like a time-out, God's discipline isn't meant to last forever. He doesn't "spiritually spank" people to be cruel or to flaunt his power. Instead, his discipline is designed to catch a person's attention, to show he or she where they went wrong, and to help them think of the better choices they'll make the next time.

Selah people' and friends the next time you feel God's discipline, accept it, ask him to forgive you, and move on. God wants your heart to walk in freedom from guilt.

"What sin are your carrying around on your back? Has God disciplined you and you just can't move forward? Join me in taking the first step in asking forgiveness from our creator and moving ahead with your life and all the greatness He has planned for you and your family. Don't keep sticking your tongue out and murmuring with others who have felt His wrath. You are just postponing the joy that awaits you."

Your pastor,

Rev Patrick Muston ~ Via Mobile: Mount Olive, NC 28365

Selah Christian Church Disciples of Christ

Four Oaks, NC

October 26, 2009 ~ Rapture Ready?

http://www.tangle.com/view_video?viewkey=5c6d6fff6a3f8d0225a1&utm_source=newsletter1026&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weeklytopvideos

Videos like this and live church dramas such as "Judgement House" that we send a group to see each year at the First Church of Goldsboro, NC are a good opportunity for each of us to reflect on where we stand with Christ and our salvation. Remember it is not about being a good person or joining a church but about your personal relationship with Christ.

Remember as thief who was hanging next to our Saviour on the cross. What church did he join? What tithe did he pay? Where was he baptized...was he immersed? No my friends he accepted God's gift, believed that he paid the price for his sins and confessed him as Lord. When he did say yes Christ said "today you will be with me in paradise."

Let us not wait another day but choose today to either stop procrastinating or choose today to be the day that we truly dedicate ourselves to our Lord.

May today be a day of reckoning and blessing in your life and in the life to come.

Your pastor,

Rev Patrick Muston ~ Via mobile: Wayne Memorial Hospital Goldsboro, NC