Living Above the Sun Ministries

Often times in the Bible we are referred to as the sheep of God’s pasture, and that Jesus is our Shepherd. I was reading in the book of Ezekiel the other night. As some of you know, I’m reading through the Bible in 90 days again. Anyway, Ezekiel has become a favorite book of Bible of mine. Chapter 34 is about God being our Shepherd bringing us back to the sheepfold. Ezekiel 34:12-16 New Living Translation (NLT) 12 I will be like a shepherd looking for his scattered flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day. 13 I will bring them back home to their own land of Israel from among the peoples and nations. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel and by the rivers and in all the places where people live. 14 Yes, I will give them good pastureland on the high hills of Israel. There they will lie down in pleasant places and feed in the lush pastures of the hills. 15 I myself will tend my sheep and give them a ...

"Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan." -Ephesians 1:11 Does everything in the world take place according to the will of God? Questions such as these relate to, and address the providence of God, and thus you have proposed a theological question. Apparently the founders of the state of Colorado believed that everything takes place according to God's will. The state motto affirms: Nil sine Numine, "Nothing without providence." The state seal pictures the all-seeing eye of God. Can we today believe that everything in our state, nation, and world fits into the divine plan> Are God's eternal purposes actually being achieved in our perplexed world? God's purposes in the world often include judgement as well as evident progress. Whether we can or cannot see them, the Creator's plans are being realized throug...

"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...

Therefore, say to the people, ‘This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.’ -Zechariah 1:3 For the past few days, God has been burning this message on my heart. I feel like so many people need to hear it. There is so much doubt in the world, so much hopelessness, hurt, bitterness...the list could go on, and the excuses as to why we do not return to the Lord. But it's time to come back! Softly and Tenderly, Jesus is calling! There are many Christians who have wandered away from the Lord. Satan wants us to believe, that once we have fallen away, there is no way back. But this simply is not true. Do not be discouraged by your mistakes, but keep coming back to Christ over and over. Jesus tells a parable in Luke 15:11-24, which illustrates how God longs for us to return to Him if we have wandered away in sin. The parable tells of a son who took his inheritance and went away from his father into a f...

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 ...

Yesterday afternoon I watched an episode of Spongebob Squarepants, most of the time the show wears me out it's so dumb and annoying, but this particular interest caught my attention because it lined up so well with the way a Christian is deceived, but also how we should act. The character of Plankton was trying to teach Spongebob how to be assertive, he tries to manipulate SpongeBob into becoming aggressive and mean in order to get more out of life. SpongeBob discovers that just because people obey you they don’t necessarily respect you. Besides, it’s just more fun to be nice to people and have them like you. Watch this clip. http://spongebob.nick.com/videos/clip/walking-small-clip.html In this clip Plankton is like Satan, he tempts us with good things to get our attention and get us interested. As Plankton is trying to teach Spongebob how to be assertive and get his way and the things he wants, Spongebob takes everything Plankton says the wrong way and ends up being nice to ...

I remember several years ago, I was in 5th or 6th grade, I would play out in the woods till dark. One day I decided I that I would put a newly learned verse, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" to the test. I still had a childlike faith. So I picked up two sticks and started rubbing them together trying to start a fire because I was cold..and I was in the woods. I said that verse over and over and over and prayed and prayed. But no fire. It baffled me for days, weeks, and months, even years why God didn't come through, I had the faith, I was praying, I was saying scripture...then it occurred to me not long ago. I was in the woods, around houses. can you imagine the catastrophe had God allowed a fire to start? I was out there for hours rubbing those two sticks together, I even got my friends to start praying. I guess it's kind of a lesson. God sees catastrophe ahead when we don't. He knows what is best, He sees our faith, he answers our prayers....