Last weekend I traveled home to be with my family. Upon arriving my dad told me that he had a special task for me. He said I want you to put a basketball goal together for me. I thought to myself Huh... No problem. I had put countless goals together in my lifetime. So this one was going to be super easy. Well this one was not your ordinary nail your rim and plywood to a pole deal. He had a retractable goal that was broken down in to countless pieces. But again I said I got this. I started pulling out parts and putting stuff together. After about 2 hours I found that I was not even close to having this goal together. One of my dad's employees came by and offered some help. " He asked" where the instructions were? I told him they were somewhere under the trash pile. You see I don't like to use instructions. He found the instructions and after about an hour we had the entire goal up and we were shooting baskets. I believe most Christians today try to live out a Spirit-filled life without the God breathed instructions that has been given to us as a gift. Thanks Dr. Charles......
____________________________________________________________ Psalm 119:

9 How can a young person live a clean life? By carefully reading the map of your Word. 10 I'm single-minded in pursuit of you; don't let me miss the road signs you've posted. 11 I've banked your promises in the vault of my heart so I won't sin myself bankrupt. 12 Be blessed, God; train me in your ways of wise living. 13 I'll transfer to my lips all the counsel that comes from your mouth; 14 I delight far more in what you tell me about living than in gathering a pile of riches. 15 I ponder every morsel of wisdom from you, I attentively watch how you've done it. 16 I relish everything you've told me of life, I won't forget a word of it.


Oftentimes, though, many of us set that manual aside, opting to use our own instincts instead. After hours of frustrating attempts, we may finally turn to the instruction book, which the manufacturer intended us to use from the start.

In life, the Bible is our guidebook. But how often do we place it aside and lean on our own understanding, instead of trusting God’s design for how we should live? The consequences are far more devastating than a few wasted hours trying to build a train set or program a television. Failure to heed the Bible’s instructions can lead to broken relationships, failed careers, poor finances, and a directionless life in general.

The Lord blessed us with this instruction manual for a number of reasons. First, He desires to instruct us on how to live a godly life. Second, He wants us to know Him more intimately. And third, He wants to prevent sin in our lives.

Psalm 119:9 says we can keep our way pure by “living according to [God’s] word” (niv). As we read His “instruction book” each day, the Holy Spirit works in our heart, and we grow closer to the Lord. Then, life’s daily trials will seem less daunting because we’ll have the truth of Scripture to guide us.

Hence, my friends lets live Spirit filled lives with Godly guidance..........

So its been a very long time since I have blogged. I stepped back from writing in my blog. Although I didn't write in my blog I still continued to write whether in my journal or to friends. I have had a lot of good questions asked. For now on if there is something you need to ask direct. Please feel free to ask at gregdavis@abohg.org.
So I have been learning about surrender. So what does a life that is totally surrendered to God look like? You have to surrender both your external life and your will to God. Oswald Chambers lesson on surrender has helped me out tremendously.
The greatest crisis we ever face is the surrender of our will. Yet God never forces a person’s will into surrender, and He never begs. He patiently waits until that person willingly yields to Him. And once that battle has been fought, it never needs to be fought again.
So I'm still battling with surrender. Or shall I say I'm not winning the battle because I haven't fully surrendered. Sure I've done some external surrender. God looks deep into a person's soul. He knows us better than we know ourselves. We can't fool him even the slightest. Oh yeah we can mask ourselves around friends and even family, but when we look in the mirror we realize that God is not mocked or fooled. So what am I saying? In order for me to surrender completely I must lay my selfish will, wants and desires down. I must abandon my self will. How does this look?............................................

Surrender for Deliverance. "Come to Me . . . and I will give you rest" ( Matthew 11:28 ). It is only after we have begun to experience what salvation really means that we surrender our will to Jesus for rest. Whatever is causing us a sense of uncertainty is actually a call to our will— "Come to Me." And it is a voluntary coming.

Surrender for Devotion. "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself . . . " (Matthew 16:24). The surrender here is of my self to Jesus, with His rest at the heart of my being. He says, "If you want to be My disciple, you must give up your right to yourself to Me." And once this is done, the remainder of your life will exhibit nothing but the evidence of this surrender, and you never need to be concerned again with what the future may hold for you. Whatever your circumstances may be, Jesus is totally sufficient (see 2 Corinthians 12:9 and (Philippians 4:19).

Surrender for Death. ". . . another will gird you . . ." (John 21:18 ; also see John21:19 ). Have you learned what it means to be girded for death? Beware of some surrender that you make to God in an ecstatic moment in your life, because you are apt to take it back again. True surrender is a matter of being "united together [with Jesus] in the likeness of His death" ( Romans 6:5 ) until nothing ever appeals to you that did not appeal to Him.

And after you surrender— then what? Your entire life should be characterized by an eagerness to maintain unbroken fellowship and oneness with God.

Today I will address a friend's comment. The Christian life is not an easy tucked away life. It does get rough sometimes. The joy that comes from having a relationship with Jesus will never be surpassed by any other thing in this world. It takes work though we are not perfect people. In fact we are far from perfect. The kool thing about that is that we have a perfect Savior. We have to lay down our selfish lives to Him in order to allow Him to live through us. This is not easy because our flesh (our nature) does not want to give up or give in. By nature we want to rule our own lives. Left up to ourselves we will screw up every single time, Every single time....... Why wouldn't you want to let a perfect Best friend, who is more than capable of taking care of you, have his way in your life. I promise you there is no one like Him. Jesus I confess to the world that there is no one like You. There will never be another one like You. You are my Best Friend.......

Jesus is the best friend we will ever have. He has all the qualities that make someone a good companion.

He accepts us. Jesus died for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8) and offers salvation to us just as we are. All of our sins are forgiven the moment we believe in Christ. Furthermore, God adopts us into His family and sends His Spirit to dwell within us. The Spirit’s presence is a sign that our acceptance by God and our adoption as His children are permanent benefits.

He hears us. Jesus serves as our high priest in heaven. He listens to our prayers, represents us before God, and intercedes on our behalf (Romans 8:34). Human friends and family may ignore us, but Jesus never will.

He understands us. During His life on earth, Jesus encountered the same type of hardships and challenges we face. He had few material possessions and no place of His own. People asked for His help day and night, so there were constant demands on His time. He experienced the pain of being misunderstood by those He sought to help—and of having His motives questioned by the authorities. What’s more, He can identify with those who suffer physically, as He endured the agony of crucifixion.

He gives us wise counsel. Jesus sent His Holy Spirit to guide us into truth. As we meditate on Scripture, we will receive insight, direction, encouragement to persevere, and warnings for our protection.

A relationship with Jesus satisfies like no other. Is He your best friend?

This week I have heard God's voice so clear. Don't get too excited on that yet. When God speaks its always good for us. Sometimes its not easy to receive or swallow. I spoke in my blog Monday that I had forgotten my purpose. This week God also reminded me that I had lost sight of of a significant treasure that I had been blessed with. Faith in the Savior........... I was blessed today by the book of Matthew. Here is just a glimpse: What do you treasure? And what is your greatest treasure.......?
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5 As Jesus entered the village of Capernaum, a Roman captain came up in a panic and said, 6 "Master, my servant is sick. He can't walk. He's in terrible pain." 7 Jesus said, "I'll come and heal him." 8 "Oh, no," said the captain. "I don't want to put you to all that trouble. Just give the order and my servant will be fine. 9 I'm a man who takes orders and gives orders. I tell one soldier, 'Go,' and he goes; to another, 'Come,' and he comes; to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it." 10 Taken aback, Jesus said, "I've yet to come across this kind of simple trust in Israel, the very people who are supposed to know all about God and how he works. 11 This man is the vanguard of many outsiders who will soon be coming from all directions - streaming in from the east, pouring in from the west, sitting down at God's kingdom banquet alongside Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 12 Then those who grew up 'in the faith' but had no faith will find themselves out in the cold, outsiders to grace and wondering what happened." 13 Then Jesus turned to the captain and said, "Go. What you believed could happen has happened." At that moment his servant became well._____________________________________________________
What do you consider your most prized possession? A house, car, boat, or cash would likely be high on most folks' list. But even treasures and luxuries won't bring lasting satisfaction—why else do so many men and women keep trading up and adding to their collection? Sadly, in the race to have "better" and "more," a lot of people overlook the most valuable asset of all: faith.

Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen"—and this corresponds to trust in Jesus Christ as Savior. Faith isn't something we can work to obtain; rather, it is a gift from the Lord.

Consider the power that God makes available. Jesus said that faith as small as a mustard seed—one of the smallest seeds in existence—enables us to do miraculous deeds (Matt. 17:20). In the book of Acts, for example, we see that the apostles' belief led to numerous healings (3:1-8; 5:16). And Matthew's gospel tells us that through a Canaanite woman's faith, her daughter was freed from demonic possession (15:22-28).

Trust in Christ is even more than an avenue to miracles; it is the way to salvation. The Bible states that there is nothing we can do to achieve eternal security in God's kingdom; we are saved only by His grace, through faith (Eph. 2:8-9).

The best way to move forward is by first receiving life's greatest gift—faith in the Savior. Romans 10:9 says to "confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, [and] you will be saved." Salvation and abundant life are found nowhere else.

Yesterday I studied Psalm 150. I needed a boost. A pick me up. I was feeling away from God. I'm reminded to always remember the mountain top experiences of life, to help you make it through the valleys of life. I was in a funk yesterday. Struggling, struggling, what a day. The scriptures reminded me that I'm created with purpose. We are created to worship God. Our lives are given as a gift to us to bring glory to God. We are to offer our lives back up to God. I realized that I was in a funk because I had for gotten my purpose. Thank you Holy Spirit........Created by a Special God....Yahweh!!!!!!!!

The Lord has made us a special people in order that we may fulfill a special purpose. Isaiah 43:21 says, "The people I formed for Myself will declare My praise." An integral part of worshiping the Lord is proclaiming His greatness.

To praise our Father is to applaud Him for who He is and what He has done. This involves the release of our emotions, which frees us to express unrestrained adoration of the Lord. When someone loves another person, the most natural response is to speak highly about the cherished one. In the same way, those who love Christ find that praise comes easily to their lips.

Praising the Lord is good for us. In our self-centered society, people are primarily interested in getting their own needs met. Sadly, this same attitude has infiltrated some churches. But God doesn't want us to come to church concerned only about ourselves. Praise lifts our eyes to Christ and fills our hearts with the contentment that eludes us when we focus exclusively on personal needs and problems.

Although praise and worship are usually associated with church services, they ought to characterize us wherever we are. Some of the most intimate and precious experiences of worship can happen during times spent alone with God.

If you find that your praise lacks vitality, tell the Lord you want to learn to extol Him with your whole heart. The focus of worship is the key. Remember how God has cared for you, and look for daily evidence of His hand on your life. Then tell Him how great He is.