Living Above the Sun Ministries

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" ...

"These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect." -Hebrews 11:39-40 True faith has the courage to count on Salvation, this is why it is the pinnacle of all of faith. From Able to all the great prophets of old never received salvation, or the new covenant. They never knew personally, THE Messiah, but they believed in the promise of a Redeemer, the promise of Jesus, and of a new covenant. What makes them courageous? What put these great men and women on faith into the hall of fame? Faith believing Salvation. 1 Peter 1:10-12 tells us: Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glor...

" Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them. " -2 Timothy 2:3-4 In the last post we discussed how suffering is the mark of a true disciple. In this post we will look at how being a soldier is another mark. This is how the Holy Spirit describes us: "He is not his own. His time belongs to his Master, so does his body. He goes where he is told, he eats what he is given, he wears what is supplied. He has no will of his own, but is an implicit servant of the military forces. He studies the ways of the enemy, he finds means of defense from the enemy, and of offense toward the enemy. This should be true of every believer." Before we can go to war, there are a few questions we must ask ourselves. We can't go into war unprepared, we must know what is required of us. 1. Are you spiritually fit? " Do not waste tim...

"Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy." -James 5:10-11 Most of you who read my blog often or know me personally know that Job in the Bible is my biblical hero. In his story we learn to trust God even when we don't understand. The essence of the story is true faith; and accepting all that life brings without all the answers as to why it happened. After all knowing God is better than knowing answers, right? God is not arbitary or uncaring, and pain is not always a punishment. There are 3 things Job had to learn, we need to learn them as well: waiting, yielding, and hoping. All 3 of these things build our faith, and they build on each other. We build our faith by facing things head on...th...

Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. Psalm 103:1-2 Today in my Sunday School class at my church I became very convicted by the truth that I don't nearly give God the praise He rightly deserves. As a friend prayed this morning we just merely "try to make it." But we were not created to just "make it," the scriptures say we are more than conquerors! We have so much to be thankful for. In the last few minutes of class we just sat still in the presence of God, at His throne worshiping, and verbally expressing our thankfulness to Him. In the service later on the story of the 10 lepers came to mind. Luke 17:11-19 New Living Translation (NLT) Ten Healed of Leprosy: 11 As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. 12 As he entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance, ...

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 ...

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...

"But you are a chosen people [son, daughter], a royal priesthood, a holy nation [son, daughter], God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." -1 Peter 2:9 Last night and into this morning, I was faced with a lot of doubting thoughts. Am I denying myself things I need? Have I really been deceiving myself? Have I been burying myself so deep in my work and things I do to avoid hurts and sorrows? Is God really not enough for me? These thoughts were not easy to think, were they true? But gosh, I think about all the songs we sing about our Savior, and think of all He has brought me through. Why would I want to feel the pain? Have I not thought about it enough? There is no where I would rather be than hiding in Jesus and His work and ministry. Am I wrong for that? Is He really not the answer? What can man do for me? I'd Rather have Jesus than anything. Are things ever going to st...

When I lived in Wilmington, things were going pretty well. We all bump along in life, but some of the bumps make you sick and nauseous and ready to get off this ride of life. I loved Wilmington, I had friends, I loved my church, I was playing in worship band using my talents for God, I had a job, I had a bank account with a little money, I had plans. However, when you are a preachers kid things don't go as planned, EVER. We had to move away to Charlotte. You all know my testimony. I kept asking God why. I was pretty happy. Since I have lived in Charlotte, it's been a very hard journey, things haven't been easy or like they were in Wilmington. I've not worked much with the economy being the way it is, my bank account was closed, just various things along the way that make me say, "I wish I were still in Wilmington." But then I stop and think, and get out of the emotional moment and think about all the blessings God has given since living here in Charl...

"Have not I commanded you? Be strong, vigorous, and very courageous. Be not afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go ." -Joshua 1:9 10 years ago or so, my youth leader Mrs. Patsy Surles gave me this little pillow hanger. Mrs. Patsy had a huge impact on my life in the developing years of my life. This verse has meant a lot in my life, this pillow has hung on my door in all the different places we have lived reminding me that "the Lord is with me wherever I go." In the context of this verse we read that Joshua's new job consisted of leading more than 2 million people into a strange new land and conquering it! Without God new things can be frightening. God assured Joshua He would be with him, so He is with us when we face new challenges. It's been challenging for me personally to move as much as we have. I've been uprooted and taken away from my friends and job and home, but through it all God has always been with...

"And Isaiah said, This is the sign to you from the Lord that He will do the thing He has promised: shall the shadow [denoting the time of day] go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps? Hezekiah answered, It is an easy matter for the shadow to go forward ten steps; so let the shadow go back ten steps." -2 Kings 20:9-10 Over a 100 year period of Judah's history (732-640 BC), Hezekiah was the only faithful king; what a difference he made! It was because of his faith and prayer that God healed him and saved his city. There are times that our faith can put us in the minority, but you can make a difference and bring change to any situation if your faith and prayers are sincere directed to the One and only God. We see here in the verse above that God made time go back! There are many examples in the Bible where God messes with time, it's so cool! He made the sun stand still one day. There is something my sister told me one day and I have held on to this truth ever s...

"If grace is an ocean we're all sinking" The story is found in John 4, the story of the woman at the well. There are many things we can learn from this story, and many different perspectives can be seen. However, there is one central and key lesson, and that is Jesus is our living water. We are all that woman at the well because we are all in need of grace, love, and forgiveness, and that is exactly what the living water represents. Jesus crossed all barriers to get to this woman, and that is what He does with you and I. This woman was a Samaritan! Jews did not talk to Samaritans...but Jesus did. At the same time we have to realize that in order to receive that living water our sins have to be exposed. Later on in the chapter, Jesus calls her out on what she had done. He didn't condemn her, but He said I know all these things about you but drink of me and my living water and you'll never thirst again! The story is told of a boy who grew up in an impoveris...

"I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!” The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord. And it is good for people to submit at an early age to the yoke of his discipline: Let them sit alone in silence beneath the Lord’s demands. Let them lie face down in the dust, for there may be hope at last. Let them turn the other cheek to those who strike them and accept the insults of their enemies." Lamentations 3:20-30 The Lord has laid it on my heart to share my story with you of the past few years of my life. I have been in a time of fervent testing, but in that testing seeing the Faithfulness of God. This is my...

As I was sitting in Halton Theatre not long ago waiting to learn about Shakespeare, I started to reflect on the good things the Lord has done for me in over the past year. Why it came at that time, I don't know...but in any case I reflected. What a good God we serve y'all! There are times we don't stop and think about all the things God gives us and really thank Him and be taken in his sovreignty. His favor follows us, faithful is our Father, he fulfills His every promise in our lives. He knows the desires of our hearts, and wants to give us what we desire. Suddenly, when we remember and list all that God has done it makes a bad day good. When we remember to Thank Him, and be filled with aweness of who He is in our lives, it's incredible. When is the last time you've reflected on your life, and the good God has brought?