Blog Posts

Church - Let's Get in the Game!

1/16/2019

Years ago, there was a best-selling book by the name of "Purpose Driven Church." The author, Rick Warren, professed that the church must have a purpose and we need to be in pursuit of it. That leads me to ask, what about the church body itself? If the church is to have a purpose, shouldn't we as the body of the church have a purpose? Is most of the body of Christ in pursuit of their purpose? Or are we on the sidelines watching the game cheering those on the field? Maybe, not even cheering, but skipping game day!

This morning on my walk I was praying, "I want to be in your perfect plan for my life. Lord, help me stay on course. I don't want to get off. I don't want to do more or less. I never want to be ahead of you or behind you!" You might say, "Shawn, you are a missionary, you should be praying that. I am not a minister. God doesn't have a specific plan for my life as he might with you." I don't know where you got that only ministers should seek the Lord for the plans and purposes for their lives. It wasn't just 5 years ago I was a successful Realtor and a house flipper. If it was up to me back then, I would still be in the real estate business to this day. Even though I wasn't a minister, I was still seeking God's face for what he wanted me to do in my life; always being open for him to speak of his direction for me and my family.

God wants us in the game! We are not spectators. We are to be participants in the Kingdom of God. A recent trend I am seeing more so, people attending church in front of their TV. Huh? That doesn't make any sense at all! Only under certain circumstances should this ever be the case. The bible says in Hebrews 10:25 (NLT), "And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near." We are NOT to neglect meeting together! Even in the times of the early church some were already skipping the house of God. But we are to encourage others to attend, even more so as the return of him (Jesus) is near! I don't know about you, but I believe we are getting closer to his return! I don’t want him coming while I am skipping church and sitting in front of the television with the remote in my hand!

The scripture comes to my mind as I am writing this. Matthew 11:12 (NLT2), "And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it."

This is an excerpt from the Fire Bible commentary:

"Following and serving Jesus takes spiritual courage, faithfulness, power, and determination. It requires constantly seeking for or making ways for the gospel to go forth, knowing that it will face opposition. It involves maintaining the driving strength in the mission to reach others for Christ."

Does this statement sound like those that are sitting in their reclining chair on game day? The Kingdom of God is constantly getting attacked from the Kingdom of Darkness. You see in scripture, "The Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing!" Look around, do you see the church forcefully advancing today? We can't even get people to show up to change diapers in the nursery let alone help park cars in the parking lot. We are living in such a time of "Me, Myself, and I" society. If it isn’t Johnny's soccer game on Sunday, then it's we must get to the beach before someone takes our spot. Where are those that are strapping on their boots Sunday thru Saturday to be ready whenever they need to serve in the mighty Army of the Lord?

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Some Christians Look Like Liars on Social Media

1/7/2019

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As a little boy, my father beat into me, don’t lie! Yes, he beat it into me. If there is anything I remember of my childhood and what my father taught me would be that. I can distinctly remember a situation where I lied to him and I got a severe spanking. Yes, I can hear it now, there are gasps as some read this, “Oh, how dare he spank you!” No worries, I’m OK and it hasn’t scarred me. Today, I am 50-years-old and not having PTSD from it. The spankings produced the exact opposite. I believe I grew up to be an honest man and once I gave my life to Christ, it was a compliment to my original held beliefs.

That leads me to my title, “Some Christians Look Like Liars on Social Media.” I know it sounds harsh, but you know what, it’s true. Either intentionally or unintentional, but either way, a lie is a lie. As we can see, social media has become more toxic as the days go by. I believe it has further divided our nation and world. People are drawing lines more so in the sand in their beliefs than ever before. In many cases, you can’t even have a decent conversation with someone of the opposing view without them attacking you.

Because of this belief system that we are developing, people are ingrained in their thinking. It’s not about what is the truth anymore. It’s about, what information do I find, and it correlates with my belief system? Whether it’s true or not, if it strikes my emotions and hits MY truth meter, I’m seizing hold. Whatever happened to an open mind? The ability to have the willingness to explore to find the truth.

Today, we live in the Google world, before that, Yahoo. I can remember my dad calling me one time trying to find information on the internet about prescription drugs and this was in the days of AOL dial-up. He called to say he couldn’t find the information he wanted. I told him to type in the address bar Yahoo.com. It got silent. I was like, “Dad, you there?”

He said, “What’s Yahoo?” I said, “It’s a place you can search for other things besides what’s on AOL.” He couldn’t believe there was an internet world beyond AOL.

Fast forward from the late 1990s and to the early 2000s; today, we can almost Google anything. Now, Google will finish your question before you are done typing. That’s how advanced it has become, we are on information overload in our world. Is there false information out there? Absolutely, but with the proper research and having the discernment of the Holy Spirit, I believe we all can come to a proper conclusion. Especially, as believers, we have the Holy Spirit inside of us; he is referred to as the Spirit of Truth.

If we have the Spirit of Truth inside of us, what is our excuse? Why are we so willing to bypass truth and post whatever, truth or not? I believe this question has many answers. Everyone has their own reasons. It could be pride for one; they don’t want to prove themselves wrong or they are already in a heated battle and they can’t look foolish. If they realize the truth, they will have to admit they were wrong. Laziness can be another factor; it’s just too easy to not spend the proper time needed to research. Then you have the other person, they just don’t care. It fuels and appeals to their emotions and beliefs.

It doesn’t matter what the reason is, posting dishonest half-truths or outright lies is wrong. It should not be accepted from any Christian. The bible says in Proverbs 12:22 (KJV) "Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.” As we post falsehoods, the Lord detests it! It’s a stench in his nostrils. Then the scripture further says, “they that deal truly are his delight.” It’s really your choice. Do you want to be a stench in his nostrils or be his delight? This should be easy for all of us.

If anyone struggles with this after reading it, then I would question the love you have in your heart. This is the basic element of being a Christian. We should all have the love of God deposited in our hearts.

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Is “Bird Box” Movie Good for Christians?

12/28/2018

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Is “Bird Box” Movie Good for Christians? It seems like so many professing Christians are sharing on social media about it. I’m like, what‘s all the buzz about? Then I went to the movie review website “Plugged In” and that’s why you are now reading this blog post.

Before you go any further, I want to preface this posting. If you get offended easily and can‘t take an honest view of yourself, then you might as well move on to another article that‘s more to your liking. Also, this is directed towards me as well. Yes, I am judging myself! I’m hitting myself where it hurts and making myself think about my choices. If you are still here, let’s get started.

“Bird Box,” what is all the sensation? Like I said, I have never watched it and honestly, I probably will not even though I subscribe to Vidangel (vidangel.com); with it, you can scrub movies of cursing, violence, and sexual content. I’m just not into thrillers or scary stuff. The question still stands, what is all the sensation and compels people to want to watch it. Like I said, I went to the reviews, and it shocked me by what I read. This is just one section of the review from Plugged In (pluggedin.com):

Crude or Profane Language

We hear at least 42 f-words and about 17 s-words. Other profanities include “a--,” “b--ch,” “d--n” and “pr--k.” They misuse God’s name about 15 times, about a third of those with the word “d--n.” Jesus’ name is abused once.

This in of itself should tell anyone this is not a movie that‘s appropriate for any Christian to watch along with the sexual content and violence. I can hear it now, “Shawn, then what can we watch? All movies have cussing. I hear it all day at work! What‘s the big deal!” Yeah, tell me about it. The struggle is real. My wife and I deal with it constantly when making choices of what to watch. That is why we resorted to Vidangel. It has been a blessing to us, allowing us to watch movies where normally we wouldn‘t because of the inappropriate content. After setting all the filters available to you as a subscriber, you can make a movie clean to view.

If it‘s not on Vidangel and not appropriate for our beliefs, then we don’t watch it. I don’t want you to feel this is a “Bird Box” or Vidangel posting; it is so much more than that.

It really comes down to this, what is in our hearts as a Christian? What do we want in our walk with God? Are we wanting to dabble in the world all the while trying to be a Christian? When I see so many willing to watch this show unfiltered and willing to subject their spirits to the content, you have to ask, “What is the condition of their heart?” Have they pushed the Holy Spirit out so much so and seared their mind to the point there is no conviction? I remember recently being with some family members in their home, we all sat down to watch a movie. Not within 10 minutes there was cussing that would even make a sailor blush. Immediately, my spirit just cringed within me. I couldn‘t even take it any longer and went to another room in the house. Obviously, it‘s their home and desire to watch it. They knew I wasn‘t happy with the movie but kept viewing it.

Again, I say, I am ministering to myself as well. Have I watched content I shouldn’t have? Have I made mistakes by doing so? Yes, 100% I have. Here is the difference. King David cried out in Psalm 51:11b (KJV), “take not thy Holy Spirit from me.” This is after he has sinned before the Lord. It greatly grieved him of what he has done and knew what life would be like if he didn‘t have the Spirit of God in his life. That is the way I am, I know what it means to have the Holy Spirit continually operating in my life. Not only does he bring me the goose bumps, but he brings guidance, comfort, truth, discipline, and much more. I have grown so accustom to this, I don‘t want to lose it. Also, if you have a relationship with him, you will not want to offend him. As a friend once said, “Watch a movie and know that Jesus is right there with you.”

The bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5:19 (KJV), “Quench not the Spirit.” I believe when we sit and watch such movies, you are truly quenching the Spirit of God. You are pushing him away and saying, “I want this moment of pleasure for my flesh more so than our continued relationship. We can pick it up later, but right now, I am checking out.” Think about that for a second, what if you did that with your spouse or another loved one? Imagine how they would feel. Do you think they would hang around long? No, I don‘t they would. I am not saying the Holy Spirit would pack his bags and take off, but I can say, you are quenching him.

Just as I am writing this, I went to look at the definition of quenching. What an awakening and an incredible way to make this posting more alive and in your face:

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Marriage and Ministry Partnership

12/28/2018

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My greatest ministry partner I could ever have! My wife, Nancy! ?? She is a true expression of God's love. She inspires me continually!

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Case for Healing Part #2

12/27/2018

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My last posting regarding Case for Healing Part #1, I shared about Matt 6:10, “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” Many wouldn’t associate this with healing scriptures, but we went into great detail of this scripture in the sense of it being, Jesus wants us to pray that the Kingdom of God will come upon the earth. God’s will, plan, and purposes come forth! “As it is in heaven,” what is heaven like? That is the key question here. We broke down scriptures in showing what heaven is like and correlating it with God’s will for us here on earth.

Even though, we discovered God’s will in heaven and his desire for us to believe the same for on earth. I still feel if this was a case being prosecuted in a court of law, it would still be weak. I think we need to dig deeper than that. Anytime a prosecutor takes a case before the judge, they want one that is open and shut. There is no room for doubt. As we can see, God wants his kingdom to go forth here upon the earth. Jesus wanted us to pray that it would come forth. There is no sickness in heaven and the prayer is, “on earth as it is in heaven.”

But let‘s dig deeper into the character of God the Father and Jesus. Yes, we know there is no sickness in heaven, but what does Jesus and the Father really think and desire!

We have always heard, “Actions Speak Louder than Words.” I don‘t know about you, but I believe this with all my heart. Someone can tell you all they want until they are blue in the face of what they will do, but until they do it, I don‘t put much faith in it. Obviously, we are dealing with a whole different set of circumstances here. We are to take God at his Word. We are to believe it by faith. We are not to be a doubting Thomas. Jesus said to Thomas after he believed it was the Lord after seeing him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who believe without seeing.” My point is, we have documentation of who the Father and Jesus was and are today, it has been recorded, etched in a stone sort of speak. God’s Word is the inspiration of his spirit. So, we will explore scriptures that will truly show who they were in action.

Here is a list of scriptures you will find fascinating. You will see something that is common, he healed them ALL. The word ALL is even used in theses scriptures many times. Take the time to read them. Not only you will get a true sense of who Jesus is, but his overwhelming character, will, and desire!

Matthew 8:16 (KJV)
16 When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick:

Matthew 14:14 (KJV)
14 And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.

Matthew 19:2 (KJV)
2 And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there.

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Jesus in Honduran Schools

12/27/2018

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Schools are open for Jesus here in Honduras! ???? This nation loves the Lord! The freedom to express Jesus Christ is endless!

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Case for Healing - Part #1

12/21/2018

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Our walk with the Lord is a journey. It‘s one step from the next into a discovery of who He is in our lives through prayer, reading of the Word, attending church, serving in His Kingdom and much more. You can make your journey however deep you want, but I encourage all to go beyond all comfort zones and experience the Lord for who he is. I think so many miss out on what He has for our lives cause we don‘t value what is available to us because of lack of knowledge or willingness to do so.

That brings us to this blog posting, just as everything with the Lord is a journey, I think healing of our body can be a journey.

It can be a time well spent with the Lord to receive a physical touch to our bodies. Not only to walk in divine health, but allow it to glorify what kind of true Father He is; a healer!

Because of some illnesses in my life, I have forced myself to dive deep into the Word of God to find out His promises for myself. What does the Bible say about healing? Can I be assured that the promises are mine? Can I stand on these promises to see health in my life? These and more questions put me on a rewarding journey in so many ways.

I have taken this deeper and sharing some of my thoughts to you. I pray that they help you in finding the answers you are looking for in healing or even inspire you to go to another level with the Lord in an area of life you have kept the door closed; it has been off limits to all and even the Lord.

Before you step any further in the subject regarding biblical healing, you need to determine the intent of God. Is He a healer and does he want you healed? That is simple enough and the perfect place for us to start. With that being said, Matthew 6:10 KJV, makes a good place to leap into this journey.

“Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”

This scripture is part of the Lord’s prayer that Jesus shared with the disciples. He was teaching them how to pray. This prayer was of an outline or prayer structure sort of speak. I don‘t know about you, but when I pray, I pray to believe to receive. Jesus is saying, “Thy Kingdom come!” He is wanting us to believe in the Kingdom of God coming to us and those that will be willing to receive it by faith; wanting it to be fulfilled and ongoing in their lives! Thus, His WILL be done on the earth! I can‘t stress this enough, HIS WILL! See, I am going somewhere with this! We are trying to find out His will. If we know His will, then we can know His intent for our lives and even in healing.

Then we have the final key in this scripture, “as it is in HEAVEN!” So, what does the bible say about sickness in heaven? Well, it doesn‘t go into great detail, but don‘t lose hope. After we tie everything together, I can assure you, the hope inside of you will be a blazing! Let’s take our first scripture, Revelation 21:4 NLT.

“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

The Word of God is saying, that there is no tears! Does sickness bring tears? There is no more death. Does sickness bring death? There is no sorrow. Does sickness bring sorrow? There is no crying. Does sickness bring crying? There shall be NO pain. Does sickness bring pain? For the FORMER things (things here upon the earth) are passed away! Sickness does not exist in heaven, it has passed away.

Now, let‘s bring this scripture into full circle by remembering, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. To walk in the things as in heaven, you must embrace the Word of God and it’s promises with an expectant hope and allow faith to fuel it to see the heavenly things working in your life! Don‘t worry about the sickness around you, work in your own life first! As you do, not only will you see the results of healing for you, but there will be an inspiration to others for their own lives.

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Planning for Next Year! 2019

12/21/2018

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Great ministry partners planning out 2019. We shall see what he has in store for us and those we live to serve!

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Preaching in San Rafael Tonight

12/18/2018

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Evening service in San Rafael was a little on the chilly side. Praise God for every opportunity to share the His Word. Tonight Shawn shared on who the Holy Spirit is and how important the Holy Spirit is in our life. Awesome message.

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Preaching in San Jose, Guatemala

11/4/2018

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The best thing to do in life is following the plans and purposes God has for you! ??

I'm home out here loving on the people of God. San Jose is a precious little community of people. Many of their homes are nothing but sticks and plastic, but they are not ashamed in glorifying the Lord!

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Giving the Gift of the Bible

11/3/2018

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So awesome! We gave out over 250 Bibles to local pastors and leaders. We have already received some photos of others receiving them and starting to use them!

Donate to spread God's Word: DONATE

It's shocking the number people that don't have Bibles for various reason; expense and lack of in the stores. We want to sow the Word of God as a seed in the mountains surrounding Copan Ruinas!

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Final Class for SMTI

10/25/2018

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Classes for SMTI (Supernatural Ministries Training Institute) by Mark Barclay Ministries.

What an incredible time it has been. Soon, we will have some students (Pastors) graduating their first year. They all have said that these courses have changed their ministries.

We firmly believe, this bible college course has allowed MorningStar Missions to help raise surrounding ministries to a higher level in Christ.

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October 23rd, 2018

10/23/2018

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Getting ready to preach the Word of God! Nothing like having this awesome woman of God, Nancy, by my side in life and ministry! Also, such a beautiful place!