Tag: integrity

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Fresh Oil New Wine Friendship Living It Out In Real Time The Big Event The Life of Faith The Secret Place Uncategorized

A BIG Thank You!

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I just wanted to pause for a moment on this rainy Tennessee morning and say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who came and participated in some way in our 23 Annual Abba’s House Media Golf Classic! It was great seeing so many friends and players out on the course, with beautiful weather too boot. I can not say enough about the great sponsors we had this year who donated to make this tournament a reality. Whether players or sponsors, all of the proceeds go to the same place… to help us spread the Good News of God’s love to a world desperately in need of salvation and hope. Whether it’s helping spread the Gospel through television and print, medical missions, or the work we do through orphanages, you are helping to give people hope, and making it possible for us to go through other doors of ministry opportunity as the Lord opens them.

StaffA very special thank you to Angie McGregor and her great staff and volunteers at Abba’s House Media who put in all of the hard work putting the AHM Golf Classic together, as well as all of the hard work they do every day to keep this ministry running efficiently and effectively.

This year (as we do every year), we had some great sponsors who make this event possible. Be sure to visit them and thank them with your words and by supporting the businesses of these Kingdom-minded folks…

GOLD
Mike Collins & Associates
Integrity Buick GMC Cadillac Chevrolet

SILVER
Rivers Edge Alliance
Paul Loftin
Rowlett, Inc.

BRONZE
Chattanooga Funeral Home
Daystar Television Network
Frank Steil Insurance
Robert Roberts, LLC

SHIRT
Farley Plumbing

SNACK SHACK
Dominion Senior Living
Johnston, Stuart & Associates/Ameriprise Financial, Inc.

WINNER’S CIRCLE
Lighthouse Media
R & D Wrecker Service

HOLE IN ONE
Integrity Buick GMC Cadillac

LUNCH
Five Guys Burgers & Fries

DRINK
Coca-Cola

FLAG
ABRA Autobody & Glass
Impact Stewardship

HOLE
Northgate Animal Hospital
Lighthouse Media
Webb & Assoc.
Outline Bible Resources
Eslinger Contracting Company, Inc.
Pep Boys

CART
ABRA Autobody & Glass
Rone Regency Jewelers
Pep Boys

Here are a few moments captured from the tournament. Enjoy them, and be sure to join us for The Outpouring, coming to Abba’s House September 14-17. With John Kilpatrick, Nathan Morris, Ronnie Phillips Jr., and me, we are expecting God to do “exceedingly, abundantly above all we can ask or think”. This will be a Big Event that will have Kingdom repercussions for years to come.

 

The Outpouring

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Fresh Oil New Wine 2015 Living It Out In Real Time The Life of Faith Through The Looking Glass

The Perils of Living Life in the Middle of the Road

Through The Looking Glass2

Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher made a very profound observation…

Standing in the middle-of-the-road is very dangerous; you get knocked down by the traffic from both sides.

Sometimes compromise is inevitable: In business, politics, and life in general, there’s a whole lot of give-and-take. However, there is a huge difference between compromising on a preference, and compromising on a principle. Personal preferences can change over time, but the principles by which we live are what define us. People who attempt to make everyone happy usually find themselves worn down by people on both sides of the argument.

In their attempt to please everyone, eventually they find that they have pleased no one, and have sacrificed their integrity and credibility along the way.

When it comes to sin and righteousness, the Bible is very clear on where we as Christians should stand. If we find that where we are standing does not line up with the truth of God’s Word, rest assured… we are the ones standing in the wrong place.

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America Fresh Oil New Wine 2014 Living It Out In Real Time The Bible The Big Event The Secret Place Through The Looking Glass

Hidden Passages & Dead-End Paths

Through the Looking GlassThe ancient city of Sardis stood high on a hill as an impregnable fortress.

When the invading Persian army besieged the city, it proved nearly impossible to approach. One day a soldier, while leaning out over the wall, dropped his helmet to the ground far below. Thinking nothing of retrieving his helmet, he left the confines of the city by a secret passage. The enemy, however, was watching. At nightfall, a platoon of Persian soldiers entered the city through the hidden entrance, attacked, and conquered the city with ease.

We have an enemy who is watching and waiting. The enemy sees ours weaknesses, and is standing ready to attack. We are called to live lives of holiness and diligence, giving no point of entry that the enemy can exploit to minimize our usefulness to the Kingdom of God. I’ve heard it said that “integrity is who you are when no one is watching”. Integrity and character walk hand-in-hand, and who you are when the world is watching is far less telling than who you are when you’re alone. Former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson once said…

If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don’t have integrity, nothing else matters.

American revolutionary Thomas Paine had this to say about character…

Character is much easier kept than recovered.

So how are you spending your company time when the boss is not watching?

How do you act and talk when “church-folk” aren’t around?

What are you watching or looking at on your computer in the dark hours of the night?

Peter reminds us of the importance of holiness in our lives when he says…

As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy. ~ I Peter 1:14-16

Make no mistake… your enemy is watching your every move. The only path the enemy has into your life is the one YOU give him.

The Way of Life is the path that stays close to the Savior, and never leads you to a dead-end.

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Through The Looking Glass

Life In The Age of the Little White Lie

Through The Looking Glass2

A few of days ago marked the anniversary of the passing of one of the greatest minds of the last century. Albert Einstein was a German-born physicist who, among other things, developed the theory of relativity, as well as won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921. Einstein once said…

Anyone who does not take truth seriously in small matters
cannot be trusted in large ones either.

We live in a culture that has grown to overlook the “little white lie”. In today’s society, the old adage ‘a man’s word is his bond’, is (I fear) exactly that… old. It seems that we often go from political season to political season in an attempt, not to get the best person for the job, but simply trying to avoid the worst. Whether personal, political, or business, we desire to overlook the “small issues” for the greater good in individuals, instead of looking at these issues as potential warning signs of more serious problems. Even King Solomon recognized the potential for the little things to become bigger problems when he said…

Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes. ~ Song of Solomon 2:15

Jesus drives the point home in the parable of the talents when the master tells the servant…

…Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things… ~ Matthew 25:21

While forgiveness for past shortcomings is important, so is faithfulness and integrity. Character is critical, but it is unlikely that a person will learn from a mistake they are unwilling to take responsibility for.

C. S. Lewis once said…

The safest road to Hell is the gradual one — the gentle slope, soft underfoot,
without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.

Accountability goes a long way in keeping the “little thing” now from becoming the “big thing” later. As believers in Jesus, we must make every effort to be truthful in all we say and do, to be lights in a dark world, and to still be “as wise as serpents, and as harmless as doves.”

 

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he safest road to hell is the gradual one – the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/c/cslewis115353.html#ZtszMH3OHVUD2Hmo.99
Anyone who doesn’t take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either.
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Anyone who doesn’t take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either.
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Anyone who doesn’t take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either.
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Anyone who doesn’t take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either.
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Through The Looking Glass

Through The Looking Glass – January 21, 2013

Spyglass2

“Looking at culture, chronology, and current events through the eyes of faith.”

Making It Count

Consider this quote by Thomas Edison…

“Being busy does not always mean real work. The object of all work is production or accomplishment, and to either of these ends there must be forethought, system, planning, intelligence, and honest purpose, as well as perspiration. Seeming to do is not doing.”

That is so true. It seems that we latch on to every “get-rich-quick” scheme and promise of a quick buck, yet we don’t want to put in the time, the thought, or the perspiration to make our “busy-ness” really count.

The same can be said of the Church.

For all of our “wonderful” programs, are we ministering to the poor?

Are we saving the lost?

Are we making disciples?

Are we passing on what is important to the next generation?

After all, only what is done for Christ will really last.

So… are you burning bright, or burning out?