Living Above the Sun Ministries

 Maybe you're like me tonight, laying in bed feeling like your life is in up in flames in all areas of your life.  Your personal life, your spiritual life, your work life, everywhere you turn is burning.  Can I pull you in close tonight, hold your face and whisper it's okay?  As horrifying the thoughts and feelings of life being on fire, it truly is okay.  It can melt, and it can harden, or blacken the soul.  There is hope still in what seems a lost cause.  Can I encourage you with tears in my own eyes, submit to the burning God has allowed in your life.  The burning away of things that don't belong, the burning that will make you shine bright as gold that is in all of us, the burning down to fertile ground where new life can begin to grow.  Where God can come into our lives and pick up all the ashes and give us something even more beautiful.  Give it to Him as an offering, and receive the new.  Don't waller around in your ashes for...

“But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,      and he will stand upon the earth at last! And after my body has decayed,      yet in my body I will see God!   I will see him for myself.      Yes, I will see him with my own eyes.      I am overwhelmed at the thought!" Job 19:25-27     It's been a while since I have written on here.  I've been tucked away thinking about life, and learning how to live.  Usually, I won't post a video/song first but in this particular instance beginning with this sets the tone for what I want to bring forth in this post.  I realize the title of this blog is undertaking a huge chunk...a set up almost because so many ask this question of life and want answers.  I can't say that I have all the answers, and I will disappoint you.  However, don't shy away from my sharing what God has revealed and taught me. None of us will truly know or mayb...

The other day my brother and I went to see The Hobbit. We have The Lord of the Ring trilogy, and have had many marathons in watching it from mission trips to just hanging out at home. I love how there is a picture of good and evil and the parallels it has with Jesus and His Kingdom. I got overly excited toward the end of the movie as in all of The Lord of the Ring movies when the Eagles come in to rescue the little hobbits and dwarfs. I love it! I clapped, and said Praise the Lord! When the battle raged and they were surrounded by the enemy, when there was no way out, and the flame was about to engulf them the eagles came and flew high above the storm to the safety of the highest rock. David proclaimed in Psalm: My heart was so filled in that moment to think back on all the scripture how my Savior and Rescuer will hide me under His wings, how He will protect me, how He will hide me in the cleft of the rock and cover me with His hand. I started singing, "I Will Rise" ...

"A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. 25 Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. 26 Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants." -2 Timothy 2:24-26 Every Tuesday night I serve in my churches Addiction Ministry. Many people get squimmish and shocked when I mention the word addiction and ministry all in one sentence. I can only imagine what mental image they have in their mind. Some people joke, and say things like, are you going to see the addicted people tonight? Some other people question why I serve in this particular ministry, what do I have in common with these people? God has taught me a lot through this ministry, and even more He has lead me to some wonderful friends. He is growing me in this ministry. Go...

The Christian story begins with creation in harmony, unity, and peace; and it ends with a restored creation. Between these two bookends is the drama of redemption. The covenants are major acts of this drama. Christ’s work is intimately related to and fulfills each of the five covenants that God initiated in the Old Testament. Covenants are about God’s activity and intention to redeem us , and the covenants tell us about ourselves—our condition, our brokenness, our dignity, our role as images of God, our suffering, and our calling. A covenant is a life and death relationship with God on His terms. The Greek word, "diatheke" refers to a person's last will and testament or to other solemn agreements involving benefits and responsibilities to all involved parties. In the New Testament, the word is often used as an equivalent to the Hebrew word "berith", especially in theological contexts. It is a binding agreement, a contract between at least two parties. It ...

"So the last will be first, and the first will be last. I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the Kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him." -Matthew 20:16, 21:31-32 I wanted to share a thought I had the other day. Matthew has been a great book to be in this past week studying and reading. A theme that I noticed in the book of Matthew is the fact that we are equal. Jesus tells his disciples the parable of the workers in the vineyard. Each worker earned a denarius, the workers who came at the 11th hour and the workers who had been there all day. It's showing God's grace too. Only by the grace of God are we where we are today. Even in the worst circumstance of life, God is good to us. The book of Nehemiah has also become a favorite of m...

In his book, "The Seeking Heart," Fenelon writes "I am inspired by John the Baptist who completely forgot himself that he might think only of Christ. He pointed to Christ with his whole life. What an example he sets before you!" John the Baptist's ministry was all about preparing the way for Jesus. In almost any crowd, John the Baptist would be called unique. He wore odd clothes, ate strange food, and preached an unusual message. He would not have agreed with the habit we have of evaluating people by how the dress-or by how they act. He would have insisted that we listen to what he had to say. What John wanted to do more than anything was to obey God, and he wasn't afraid to ask others to do the same. John realized he had a special role to play in the world. His job was to tell the world that the Savior was about to arrive, and John was totally committed to this purpose. John's message still applies to us today, in that not only do we need to ...

When we accept Jesus as our personal Savior, we are instantly called into ministry. We read in Acts 1:8 "But when the Holy Spirit (what we receive when we are saved) has come upon you, YOU will receive POWER and will tell people about me everywhere." I recently heard a pastor put it this way, "Missions is that which we are. It's not an option." So we know that we are to share Jesus at all times, but how to we determine our exact calling and our exact ministry. We will quickly learn that Jesus wasn't joking with his disciples when He said leave everything you own and follow me. We have to at times exchange our comfort to be a blessing. It is part of the humbling experience. H umble your heart before the Lord. He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way. ~ Psalm 25:9 Humility is an absolute necessity for a teachable, moldable heart. To discover our calling, we must be willing to set our agendas aside and surrender to God's. W...

One of my weak points is being overly emotional, and blowing things out of proportion, and I give up. I have frequent anxiety attacks at times, and I can be really messed up in controlling my emotions. This is not all the time, just every once in a while. So because of these factors in my life I have found it effective to form a support group of people who I check in with and talk to often. These people help me see perspective, and help get my thinking back in proportion, they encourage me, and don't allow me to slack off. They hold me accountable to things. I go to them for advise, and guidance; It is wise, I believe, to allow only a few people speak into your life. I use my own discernment, but also like another opinion. These people challenge me, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. They help me when I've run out of gas, or locked my keys in the car. I'm truly thankful for not only the help they willingly give me, but I'm thankful for their influence, an...

In my one of my favorite theatre productions, "My Fair Lady," Eliza Doolittle is trying to learn how to be a proper lady. Her teacher, Henry Higgins, is teaching her how to speak like a lady, dress like a lady, carry herself, and dress like a lady. The speaking part is a little tricky...."the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain" is what Eliza has to learn to say properly. Many times Eliza felt like giving up, she didn't see the potential in herself that Professor Higgins saw; because the eminent linguistics professor, treated her like a lady, she began living up to his expectations. I have come to realize that sometimes my managers at work are hard on me sometimes because I make excuses for why I may slack off and not live up the the fullest potential they see in me. We don't realize our own potential that's why others have to bring it out of us. We all need potential and word's of life spoken into our lives. I was telling someone earlier t...

One of things that we notice most about Jesus' ministry here on Earth is that He met people where they were. He did not expect people to come to Him for help, they didn't know they needed Him. Jesus came to their level and met them in where they were. This morning, I trained for my new Volunteer job at Elevation as a Greeter. In the time's I have visited Elevation, the whole experience has been incredible from the parking lot to the service. One of the things they tell us is you are preaching a sermon in the parking lot, people start to form their opinions from the moment they pull in the parking lot. It has meant so much in the times that people have come to greet me where I was and say it's so good to see you today, I'm glad you came to church! We as greeters are encouraged to speak words of blessing over people. We all need words of life spoken over us, our weeks are filled with enough people putting us down and slandering us. The last place people need...

"One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Dedicate Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.” So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way. So Barnabas and Saul were sent out by the Holy Spirit. They went down to the seaport of Seleucia and then sailed for the island of Cyprus." -Acts 13:2-4 Writing on my blog makes me so happy! So, lately, I've been studying through the book of Acts. Acts, is still being written today, as the church continues to progress. It is important that every Christian know the power they possess through the Spirit. But more importantly than that, I believe every Christian has a responsibility to pray over and for each other. Remember in the last post we looked all through the book of Acts, instances where things happened as a result of prayer. In our key verse for today, because a group of men were worshiping they heard from ...

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:16-18 Today I hit the streets of Charlotte in a mission to "Give Love Away." In the summer of 2009, I went on a "Give Love Away" tour mission trip to Dallas, Texas. Without saying much we'll just say that trip was disappointing, but God still used us, and now today I'm still trying to give Jesus' love away. I'm thinking from now on I will do this once a week, a give love away day and I invite anyone who wants to join me to join me. I told God that if He gave me a job I would use the money I made to spread his name to my surroundings and wherever He wants me to go. So that's what I'm doi...

"Watch that you don't treat a single one of these childlike believers arrogantly. You realize, don't you, that their personal angels are constantly in touch with my Father in heaven?" "Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!" -Matthew 18:10; Hebrews 13:2 The other day at work an angel visited me. She was beautiful, she looked like a woman you would see anywhere in public. She was wearing a white beachy looking dress, kinda flowing. She had a sweet face. She was telling me she was having a bad day, and I told her I'm a good listener. Then all of a sudden she acted like she had always known and and started asking me if I was okay, and if I'm doing okay with both working and going to school, which I mentioned nothing about school. She has the sweetest smile, and she encouraged me. When she left I felt such a peace, and a renewal. I didn't realize it till home...

"When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset." -Exodus 17:12 Tonight my sister and I were talking about this story. Actually our original topic was spiritual warfare. For some reason this story came to mind. I said, you know in the times we are in spiritual warfare we have each other to hold one other up. Like Moses and Aaron. Check out Exodus 17: The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.” 10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses’...