Recipes for Success in Life and Pizza

July 23, 2013 by

Recipes for Success in Life and PizzaLook at that succulent creation.  It’s called a Pizz’alad.  My wife and I made one for dinner.  It is absolutely the best homemade pizza that I have ever tasted and it looked so good coming out of the oven that I just had to take a photo.

The concept is simple.  Combine your salad with your pizza into one handheld delight that is delicious and easy.  This version is the Margherita which contains a very simple ingredient list of dough, tomatoes, basil, cheese and dressed arugula for a topper.  I recommend you try it as soon as possible in one of its many variations.

Being a new recipe and containing homemade dough we were very unsure how it all would turn out.  But we followed the recipe and used fresh, quality ingredients and were rewarded with a successful pizza experience that we will most assuredly want to revisit as often as possible.

Here’s the moral of the story; when you follow a good recipe and use quality ingredients you will create a successful dish.  Now, how does that apply to life?

As it turns out the recipe for success in life is also very simple.  Would you like to see it?  For me, it is 5 easy words.  To God be the glory.  That’s all.

A life lived in devotion to God’s glory is always successful.  Count on it.  There are many verses that promise exactly this in the Bible but my favorite has always been “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Mathew 6:33 NKJV).

Our God is a God of order.  Just as in our recipe for Pizz’alad where we first have to create the dough and let it rise before we can add other ingredients in God’s recipe for a successful life we must first seek Him and His righteousness before we spend time and energy on other things.  Seeking God first always brings Him glory and when God is glorified in our life then we are blessed and those around us are blessed through us.

The dough in our recipe has a small ingredient list.  Small though it is, if we do it incorrectly then the base for our tasty creation will be ruined and the rest of the work will be for naught.

Seeking God’s glory is much like our dough recipe.  It also has a small but critical ingredient list that that we must get right.  The basis for glorifying God begins with our willingness to surrender our lives completely to Him and to spend time in prayer and Bible study on a daily basis.  We must also be a consistent part of a local body of believers where we can learn and grow in Christ with others of like mind.

Once we have done these things then we have a solid foundation for a life in which God can and will be glorified.  God wants you to be blessed and successful and he has provided the recipe for you in His book.  It’s up to you to apply it and I earnestly pray that you will.  Trust me when I tell you that it is the best decision that you could ever make.

How much success are you having right now in your life and are you giving God the glory?

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Good Advice and the Path Ahead

July 19, 2013 by

goodadviceThanks to a suggestion from a fellow blogger (T E Hanna; he has a great site) who was kind enough to give me some advice and words of wisdom, I will be moving my regular updates to Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  My goal, as God directs, is to eventually update at least 5 times a week and be involved in Matthew515 as a full time ministry but for now the 3 updates a week will be a good starting point.

I’m very new at this.  If you have read my “Purpose” page then you know that the idea for Matthew515 did not come about until May the 15th of 2013.  The last 2 months have been equal parts exciting and exhausting as I have endeavored to learn all I could about how to start and administer a blog and then actually commit to doing it.  What you see here is just a beginning but I am fully confident that He who began a good work will be faithful to complete it if I will just stay right with Him throughout this process.

I say all of this to say that I am still learning and will be for a very long time.  God is excellent and for me to settle for less than excellent in my service to Him is not something that I will do.  We are told in Phillipians 4:19 “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” and since God has great riches and great glory then his supply of my needs will be great indeed.

I know that God will encourage, strengthen and empower me to make Matthew515 exactly what he wants it to be if only I will be faithful to Him.  1 step at a time, never knowing exactly what is ahead; in faith and hope we must follow Him.

“When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”

(John H. Sammis, 1887 Trust and Obey)

That old hymn speaks powerful words of wisdom to all Christians.  I find it a great comfort as I face the unknown.  It is not given to me to know the future.  I have something better.  I am a child of the One who holds the future and I have been given a simple task with a great promise.  If I will trust and obey then I will be happy and fulfilled as a Child of God.  It really is that simple!

For now, I would request your prayers as I continue on with my King and His ministry through Matthew515.  I am excited about what He has in store and I cannot wait to see what God is going to do.  I am daily praying the prayer of Elisha as he stood atop a city wall with his servant all those years ago.   And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. (2 Kings 6:17)

“Open my eyes, Lord, that I might see the awesome and mighty work that you are doing!”

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Vacation is Here!

July 12, 2013 by

3ä illustration: Travel rest from work.Starting next week my wife and I will be heading out of state on vacation.  We have a relaxing couple of days planned and while I am very much looking forward to the time it will mean that the next regular update to matthew515 will not occur until Friday, July 19th.

Vacation should be a time of rest and relaxation and renewal although it seems like very often it does not turn out that way.  We plan time to get away from our daily lives and go and do something different which will hopefully refresh and rejuvenate us.  In theory at least, we plan a time to rest and play so that we may then go and work all the better.

“I need a vacation!”  “I need to get away!”  “I have got to take some time off!”  Do any of those sound familiar to you?  I know I’ve uttered those phrases at least once (ok, more than once) and I’ve heard co-workers say them as well.  What we’re really saying is “I’m tired and drained and I need to rest and renew myself” or at least “I need different scenery for a few days”.  I doubt that we are consciously thinking “I need to go play for a little while so that I can come and work effectively again!” even though that should be the goal.

Especially for we who call ourselves Christians; the goal of our rest and play should be to renew us that we may work all the better.  In our society “play” is glorified as an end unto itself.   We have elevated recreation to an art form and in many cases laziness and idleness are seen as the ultimate end.  We end up chasing wealth in order that we may buy better toys and spend more time playing instead of glorifying God and committing our work unto Him.

Here is what I am learning; Play done for the sake of gratification of the flesh is not Godly.  Playing as a means to worship the Lord and renew ourselves for further good works fulfills 1 Corinthians 10:31 where it says “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”  I would also like to point out 1 Peter 4:11 which says “If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

Is God glorified by the time we spend resting and playing?  Is God glorified by the emphasis we put on working and playing?  Do we play that we may work better or do we work that we may play better?

For many years I thought work was something I had to tolerate so that I would have money to live, and more importantly, to play.  I was all about my free time.  I resented any intrusions on my free time and only grudgingly did I give of myself because my priorities were completely wrong.  Thank God He has shown me a different and better way!

I am beginning to learn what Colossians 3:23 means when it says “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men”.  This work that God has given me to do is the most fulfilling and joyful task that I have ever been given.  I still need time to rest and to play so that I may be physically and mentally renewed but my time spent doing so is now fully committed to God’s glory.  It is not my time, it is His.

As I plan and prepare for vacation next week I pray that the Lord may bless our time and that we may glorify Him with our words and deeds.  I look forward to coming back refreshed and I am excited about discovering what He has in store for His children.  I go to a place of rest so that I may come back and work for Him.

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Stay with God Again

July 10, 2013 by

StayagainOn Monday we looked at how important it is for Christians to stay right with God in all areas of our lives.  We discussed abiding with Him as a foundational truth of Christianity and how not abiding in Christ leads to error and ruin.

Today’s question then, is why are so many not abiding with Him?  What’s happening with Christianity today when so many Christians appear to be little different than the non Christians around them?  Where, exactly, is the problem?  And what, if anything, can we do to correct it? I’ve identified three reasons for not abiding with Him and although there are probably others as well, I believe these three cover the majority.

The first reason, I believe, is one of ignorance.  How can someone practice a truth that they have not heard and have not been taught?  They cannot, of course.  It is exactly why in the Great Commission found in Matthew 28 that Jesus did not stop with verse 19 but continued on to verse 20.  It reads like this: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” The 20 is in bold font to show the transition between verse 19 and 20.

If you follow Jesus’ directive in verse 19 then folks are getting saved and baptized and that’s great.  But please don’t stop with verse 19.  Otherwise you end up with Christians who’ve accepted the gift of God but who don’t have the necessary teaching and training to grow and develop as a child of God.  Talk about setting someone up for failure!  Let us not do that.  Let us take responsibility first for ourselves and then for all of God’s children around us to make sure that they are properly taught and instructed in all matters of truth and righteousness.

The second reason, and this one applied to me for a very long time, is distraction.  Too much of the world’s influence and not enough time spent with God is the root cause.  We get involved with “stuff” and “things”, many of which are harmless in and of themselves but because of the focus and attention we give them they become like idols to us.

We worship at the altar of our television.  We worship at the altar of our favorite sports team.  We worship at the altar of food.  We worship at the altar of making money.  We worship at the altar of leisure time.  The list is endless but the effect is the same.  We put our whole heart into something else other than God our Father and then wonder why we aren’t happy and fulfilled and where our joy went.

We can even be distracted by very good and Godly things like our families and our Christian service!  We get so easily involved with serving and making sure others are happy and comfortable that we forget to spend time with the Lord and keep Him first.

I believe modern Christianity is a case study in distraction.  Like Peter on the water (Matthew 14:29-30) we look around at all the things of this world and by doing so take our eyes off of Jesus and so of course we begin to sink.  We sink and we fail to abide with Him because we let ourselves be distracted.  I think that there are an awful lot of sinking Christians out there.

The third reason that we fail to abide with Him, I believe, is enmity.  We are mad at God.  He has allowed suffering to come into our lives or He has taken something from us that we did not want to give up or He has asked us to do something that we just do not want to do.  And so we walk away.  We voluntarily step out of His Light into darkness and shame.

I call this a Romans 8:28 breakdown.  Somewhere along the line we either forget or stop believing the words of Paul in Romans Chapter 8 where he said “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose“.  I have been there.  I have done this on more than one occasion in my life.  I know what it is like and looking back now I can firmly say that it is never worth it.

God is working His plan and His purpose in all and through all.  Romans 8:28 does not say that everything is good.  We know that there is evil in this world and that everything is most certainly not good.  What Romans 8:28 does say is that God is actively working all things, both good and evil, to His ultimate purpose.

God is smarter than I am.  I trust Him and His plan.  I want to be involved in what He is doing.  To be involved with God I must abide in Him.  I must stay with God in every area of my life.  Let us examine ourselves and see if there is any reason or excuse we are using to not abide with Him and take care of it right now.

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Stay with God

July 8, 2013 by

StayI originally had something much different in mind for this morning’s update but this idea of “staying with God” and the truth that it represents is so important that I cannot put it off for a later time.  When the Lord says “now” it must be now.

It all started yesterday morning in Sunday School when I had my class participate in an exercise where we each picked out a Bible verse or group of Bible verses to share with the class and to explain what they meant to us.  One person chose John 15:1-8 and shared how much it had helped her to realize how important it was to abide with the Lord on a daily basis.

As she read the verses and begin to speak I could feel the Holy Spirit speaking to me and prompting me to examine my life.  John 15:4 says “Abide in Me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”  Verse 5 adds “I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in Me and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

This is what I consider to be a foundational truth of our faith.  Jesus Himself is telling us that we must abide with Him in everything that we do, think and say.  Abide is a synonym of stay or dwell and it literally means to live with someone or something; in this case Jesus Christ.

While we are abiding with Him we have God’s love, God’s peace, God’s strength and God’s nourishment from which to draw.  When we are not abiding with Him we have only our own strength and wisdom to draw on and it is in this state that we fail and stutter and suffer most terribly from the temptations of the evil one.  The difference between a Christian who is abiding and one who is not is literally night and day or, more accurately, light and darkness.

We are children of God.  We must walk in the Light.  So many of our number have accepted the gift of salvation and then chosen not to abide with Him and have walked back out into darkness.  Should we wonder why the rate of divorce, infidelity, lying and cheating is so high among those who profess to be Christians?  It is because we are not abiding with Him and are stumbling around in the darkness of this world.

What exactly does it mean to abide with Him?  How do we do this?  We must center our lives on Jesus Christ.  We must make Jesus Christ the most important thing, the most important person, the most important relationship.  We must “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33 NKJV).

God knows our needs, our wants, and our hearts.  He created us and he knows what we truly desire and truly need better than we do ourselves.  It is only when we become fully committed to getting to know God for who He is and for staying right with Him that God can finally produce His love, His joy and His peace in us.  This is what it means to “abide with Him” and the rewards for doing so are infinitely better than anything the world has to offer.

Christian, do you want to be truly fulfilled and live the most awesomely abundant life that God has planned for you?  Then you must abide with Him.  Start now, today.  Commit to staying with God from this moment onward and you will never regret it.

 

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Pray It!

July 1, 2013 by

prayPrayer is the key to so many facets of the Christian life that it is fair to say that we cannot overstate its importance.  Prayer is communication with our Holy God and is necessary for confession, renewal, intercession and aligning our heart and mind with that of our Heavenly Father.

Our growth as Christians and our maturity as a disciple of Jesus is completely dependent on the quality and quantity of our prayer time.  1 Thessalonians 5:17 says “Pray without ceasing” meaning prayer should be something that we turn and return to as we go about our daily lives.  Something as simple as a heartfelt “Thank you, Lord, for this beautiful day” or a sincere “Give me strength to get through this, Lord” works wonders for keeping us focused and in tune with our Father no matter what else is going on around us.

In the Process of Being a Christian I mentioned “developing spiritual ears” as a part of our growth.  These little constant prayers encourage and hasten the growth of our “spiritual ears”.  As we talk to God more frequently we get better at sensing the presence of the Holy Spirit and in understanding what God’s will for us is in each and every situation.

Praying also has the effect of bringing us into the presence of our Heavenly Father.  While in the presence of God we gain understanding of who He is and begin to learn more about His perfect character.  It is only when we have prayed our way into His presence that we truly understand how awesome and mighty He is and how much He loves and cares for us.

In God’s presence we cannot help but praise Him and give thanks and we also should not hesitate to be honest with Him about our trials and our shortcomings.  God knows us better than we know ourselves because He created us, so honesty in our prayer life is the only way that real communication can happen.  Without honesty in our prayers we are fooling ourselves and wasting our time.

We must open our hearts to God who wants to “supply all of our need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 NKJV) and is simply waiting for us to ask and be open to receiving the blessing.  The Lord wants us to realize that His ways are so much better than our ways and in learning dependence on Him we gain capability and become so much more than we could on our own.

Prayer, like any other discipline, is a learning process.  The ingredients are simple.  Sincerity, honesty, humility, submission and desire all play important parts.  We must sincerely talk to God without wavering.  We must be honest about ourselves and what we are praying about.  We must come before God with humility and in submission to His will and His purpose.  And we must desire to seek God with our whole heart because in doing so God promises that he will bless and reward us.  Matthew 6:33 speaks to this when it says “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you”.

My desire is to commit to living Matthew 6:33.  Prayer is an essential part of seeking God and must be where we start and end if we are to be successful as children of God.  Let us pray for each other as we continue this journey together.

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14 Years Ago Today..

June 26, 2013 by

IMG_9397On this day 14 years ago I was married to Vicki and thus began our wonderful and blessed life together.  June 26th, 1999 at Taylorsville Baptist Church in Taylorsville, Georgia she and I said “I do” and promised to love each other until the Lord calls us home.

She is my hero in many ways and so much more capable than I in ways that really matter.  She keeps our house in order in both a literal and a figurative sense and she is one of the most patient and kind persons that I have ever met.  God truly blessed me when He brought Vicki into my life and He’s still blessing me through her today.

We met in an elective class at Shorter College called “fitness walking” (it was an easy and fun way to get a PE credit!) and she quickly became my walking buddy for the duration of the class.  On the last day of the class after our final exam (yes, we had a written final for fitness walking, believe it or not) I decided that this was someone I that I would like to know better and I asked her for her phone number.

We went out on our first date soon after and from the very beginning I hoped that she was someone that I could spend the rest of my life with.  We have always gotten along very well and I believe that I was made for her and her for me and that God brought us together in His perfect time.

Proverbs 16:9 says “A man’s heart plans his way but the Lord directs his steps” and I am so thankful that the Lord directed me to Vicki and that He is still leading and guiding us today.  We’ve enjoyed 14 wonderful years together and I am still discovering things about her and learning to be the mate that God would have me to be.  Please join me in celebrating Godly marriage today and I ask you to pray for us as we continue this journey together.

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Today, I Just Want to be Thankful

June 21, 2013 by

thankfulLooking back, this has been a rather long and full week in ways that aren’t necessarily good.  Every day it seems like there has been some new problem or issue that required time and attention and it’s been all too easy to lose sight of what’s really important as I dealt with each day’s trial.

So today, I just want to acknowledge my Creator and His sovereign hand in my life.  I want to affirm that no matter what kind of storm is raging around me God is bigger, mightier, strong to save and an ever present help in times of trouble.  I want to cling ever tighter to His unchanging hand as He guides me over and through whatever problems I might face.

I believe Romans 8:28 where it says “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose”.  I testify that through it all God is working and moving and fixing all things according to His purpose and His plan and count myself blessed to be one of His children.

As I sit and write this morning it is quiet and cool and calm.  I have no idea what is in store for me or my family or anyone else.  But I do know the One who holds the past, present and future and I trust Him and in His will and His way.  I am secure and I have peace because I rest in Him.  So right now and right here I just want to be thankful and give praise to my Maker for being my God and my King.  Thank you, Lord, for being so good to me.

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Alpha Predator : How To Be Victorious Over Life’s Ultimate Adversary And What To Do When You’re Not Book Review

June 19, 2013 by

Alpha Predator by Steven R. Taylor

I am very excited to kick off book reviews on Matthew515.com with Steven R. Taylor’s book, Alpha Predator: How To Be Victorious Over Life’s Ultimate Adversary And What To Do When You’re Not.  Steve (as I know him) has been a friend of the family for many years and he and my dad have kept in touch even as Steve’s missionary adventures took him to Africa and all over the United States as well.

My dad told me about Alpha Predator even before the idea for this blog was given to me and not to long after Matthew515.com was off the ground I realized that I wanted to cover literature that was both inspirational and instructional in matters of faith.  I am an avid reader and as I have gotten closer to God and more interested in strengthening my faith I have begun to seek out books and authors that inspire and challenge me to go farther and deeper in my daily walk with the Lord.

That’s why it’s such an honor and privilege to cover Alpha Predator here on Matthew515.com.  Not only is the book written by someone I know personally it also happens to be interesting, instructional and real in the type of information it presents.  It’s a very relevant topic that Steve is covering in Alpha Predator and because of his many years as a deep bush missionary in Zimbabwe, Africa, Steve is able to use his real life experience and bring firsthand accounts of adventure, danger and faith in action.

An alpha predator, if you didn’t already know, is the predator that sits at the very top of the food chain.  The alpha predator of the African bush is the lion and it was the Apostle Peter who first compared the lion to our adversary Satan.  It is these very verses from 1 Peter 5:8-11

8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 11 To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

that Steve uses as the framework for Alpha Predator.

Steve begins his book with an account of a fatal lion attack that occurred very near his home in Zimbabwe one fateful day.  As Steve learned of the circumstances surrounding the vicious attack and fatality he and the neighboring tribesman all agreed that the tragedy could have been avoided had the individual been vigilant, prepared and followed proper instructions on how to live in lion country.

Steve uses this story and others to parallel the Christian walk with his lion experiences and provides instruction and teaching on how to be victorious over Satan in everyday life and how to recover and move on when we fail.  Coming through on every single page is the feeling that Steve has personally lived and experienced exactly what he is teaching and this makes his book all the more compelling for it’s authenticity.  This is a deeply personal work from Steve and you will feel like you know him and have walked in his safari boots by the time you reach the last page.

You will travel with Steve in isolation through the deep bush, across lakes and remote rivers and into villages where the gospel has never before been preached and no Christian has ever gone before.  You will see how God worked in a mighty way to bring salvation to hundreds of souls and how Satan and the forces of darkness opposed Steve and his family almost to the point of death.  And through it all you will glorify God, as Steve did, that we have a God who has dominion over darkness and evil and who is personally interested in our salvation and restoration.

Although it is the alpha predator who gets the title role in the book it is we who are instructed and edified by it and more importantly it is God who gets the glory.  Steve would be the first person to tell you that he is no hero even though some of the stories and deeds in Alpha Predator are indeed the work of a “gospel hero”.  Steve would instead say that he was just a man who followed God’s call and by God’s grace and mighty power was able to overcome the worst our “alpha predator” could bring against him.

To read Steve’s story and to learn more about our “alpha predator” and how to be victorious in life’s battles with evil pick up a copy of Alpha Predator: How To Be Victorious Over Life’s Ultimate Adversary And What To Do When You’re Not from Amazon, Barnes and Noble or other fine booksellers.

ISBN-13: 9780988726109

Publisher: Blood Washed Khaki

Publication date: 12/13/2012

Pages: 234

 

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Book reviews are coming

June 17, 2013 by

bookOn Wednesday of this week I will post my first book review for Matthew515.com.  My subject for that review will be Alpha Predator by Steven R Taylor.

Following Alpha Predator in the coming weeks will be Gary L. Richardson’s Fear is Never Our Friend which as I have already mentioned in a previous post has been a great help and inspiration to me and has really motivated me to change my approach to life.

Thereafter I hope to be able to post at least one new book review per month for Matthew515.com.  I am passionate about learning and reading and discovering new things and books are one of my most favorite ways to do that.

I look forward to sharing what God is teaching me and showing me through the works of these people of faith and I am certainly open to suggestions for new authors and new works as we move forward.  For now, I leave you with 2 Timothy 2:15 which says “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

 

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