Who Dat?
"Who dat? Who dat? Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?"
(translation: Who’s that? Who’s that?
Who’s that saying they are going to beat them Saints?)
How about them Saints! One of my favorite things to watch on television is football. Every chance I get to turn on a game, I will. By now, you have probably figured out that I support the LSU Tigers and the New Orleans Saints. Usually by this time in the season, I have to choose another team to support because college football is over, and the Saints season is over, but NOT THIS YEAR! It was so fun to come home on Sunday night from a very busy day and sit down and watch the Saints come out victorious over the Minnesota Vikings. (Sorry to all you Vikings/Favre fans.) It is kind of ironic that the New Orleans football team is titled the Saints. I lived there for 2 ½ years, and the true Saints were few and far between. Who are the true saints and who is it that is trying to beat God’s saints?
The saints, according to scripture, are those God has called to be His own people. The saints include all people who proclaim Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. All Christians are saints in that they are positionally “set apart” to God and are experientially being made increasingly “holy” by the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 1: 2). The saints have a glorious inheritance awaiting them. “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us (the saints) who believe (Ephesians 1:18-19).” The inheritance is eternal; it is not subject to decay, and it is divinely kept for us. Then who is it that is trying to beat God’s saints? That answer is easy. Satan wants to do everything within his power to try and beat up on the saints. Good news is that I have read the end of the Book and found out that Satan is defeated and the Saints come out victorious! As we wage war each day against the evil ways of Satan, may we remember that we, the saints, have the power of God Almighty to overcome him and our flesh. Praise be to God for our inheritance and daily victory!
GEAUX Saints!
Aaron Hodges
Monday, January 25, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
DON'T BE SURPRISED
DON’T BE SURPISED!
Have you ever been surprised? I love to surprise my kids by sneaking up on them when they least expect it and scare the living daylights out of them. I know that sounds mean, but it is so much fun. We often are surprised by great things such as an unexpected blessing or an unannounced visit by friends. These surprises bring joy and excitement. Then there are surprises that come and bring pain, such as the loss of job, a sudden loss of a family member, or even a temptation. Many times we get blindsided by something out of the blue when everything else in life seems to be on the up and up. Should we be surprised by this? Isn’t that what Satan wants to bring to our life?
In my personal life, when everything seems to be going well, Satan rears his head and puts a wrench in the situation. Why do I say that it is Satan that messes things up? Well, the temptations of Christ give us this example. Just before Christ was tempted, He had been baptized and then went on a forty day fast. Christ was on what we would call the “top of a spiritual mountain”. It was at this point that Satan saw his moment to pounce. Right now we are seeing some great things happen in the church, right now our worship ministry family is growing; right now we are seeing revival begin to start, so be on the lookout, and don’t be surprised when Satan appears and tries to mess up things. We have strength to get us through these times. Jesus confronted Satan head on with His word. When trials come our way we need to go back to the promises of God. Throughout scripture we are promised that the Lord will be with us even in the darkest times. Nothing, not even Satan, can pluck us out of the ever-powerful hand of God. “The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations (2 Peter 2:9).”
One of my favorite promises that I claim often is found in Jeremiah 29:11.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,
Plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
Plans to give you a hope and a future.
Then you will call upon me and come
and pray to me, And I will listen to you.
You will seek me and find me when you
seek me with all your heart.
I will be found by you, declares the Lord.
Declaring the promises of God!
Aaron Hodges
Have you ever been surprised? I love to surprise my kids by sneaking up on them when they least expect it and scare the living daylights out of them. I know that sounds mean, but it is so much fun. We often are surprised by great things such as an unexpected blessing or an unannounced visit by friends. These surprises bring joy and excitement. Then there are surprises that come and bring pain, such as the loss of job, a sudden loss of a family member, or even a temptation. Many times we get blindsided by something out of the blue when everything else in life seems to be on the up and up. Should we be surprised by this? Isn’t that what Satan wants to bring to our life?
In my personal life, when everything seems to be going well, Satan rears his head and puts a wrench in the situation. Why do I say that it is Satan that messes things up? Well, the temptations of Christ give us this example. Just before Christ was tempted, He had been baptized and then went on a forty day fast. Christ was on what we would call the “top of a spiritual mountain”. It was at this point that Satan saw his moment to pounce. Right now we are seeing some great things happen in the church, right now our worship ministry family is growing; right now we are seeing revival begin to start, so be on the lookout, and don’t be surprised when Satan appears and tries to mess up things. We have strength to get us through these times. Jesus confronted Satan head on with His word. When trials come our way we need to go back to the promises of God. Throughout scripture we are promised that the Lord will be with us even in the darkest times. Nothing, not even Satan, can pluck us out of the ever-powerful hand of God. “The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations (2 Peter 2:9).”
One of my favorite promises that I claim often is found in Jeremiah 29:11.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,
Plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
Plans to give you a hope and a future.
Then you will call upon me and come
and pray to me, And I will listen to you.
You will seek me and find me when you
seek me with all your heart.
I will be found by you, declares the Lord.
Declaring the promises of God!
Aaron Hodges
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
COME EXPECTING...WHAT IF?
This week, I am posting (by permission) an article written by my friend and choir member, Brent Sheffield. I 100% agree with what is on his heart! I hope you do to.
Come Expecting…What If?
I'm still in a sense of awe and complete humility at the presence of God that we experienced last night. I am only now starting to be capable of forming complete sentences so give me some patience in reading my rambling.
There is a move of God taking place in the life of our church that is beyond mortal understanding with the breadth and depth we may never really grasp until the other side of eternity. I'm stunned and crushed at the passion with which our students and their leaders are pursuing real Godliness and His renown. I've seen spiritual highs in youth groups before, but nothing like this intensity and intentionality. Some mighty men and women of God are being raised up in our presence, and yet so many are unaware.
I wonder, could a fire for God truly spread throughout the church as a whole? I ask myself, is it something that is possible? The answer is a resounding and unquestionable YES!! God is calling us to rise in our desire to follow Him and to truly experience and celebrate His greatest gift of grace and salvation that He bought for us. What kind of power would we see if, as a church body, we determined that we would COME EXPECTING? We come expecting to see great wonders occur right before our eyes. We come expecting to raise the name of Jesus to heights we can only reach in praise. We come expecting to hear from God. We come expecting to answer Him. We come expecting to be sent out. We come expecting to see people saved. We come expecting lives to be broken and mended in worship. We come expecting to see repentance take place. We come expecting to repent as God reveals our sin to us. What if we COME EXPECTING GOD!?!
We read in scripture that people came to listen to Jesus because they had heard about awesome things happening. What if our church "marketing plan" was just to pave the way for God to work so mightily that people could not help but come expecting to see what God is doing in our presence? If we come expecting God, then God has promised that He will send His Spirit and fill us beyond all measure and understanding. I know that a couple of months ago, Bro. George mentioned that he was feeling something has been blocking the invitation time. Since then, I have gone to the altar every service to pray for the invitation. I have been praying in the name of Jesus to cast out all demons of distraction and that the Holy Spirit would be strong in drawing people down the aisle to seek salvation. What if the invitation time began not only with people walking to the stage to prepare the music, but also with people coming to the altar to pray for the invitation time!?! What if even before we step out of our cars on Sunday morning to walk across the parking lot, we stop to pray that God will be glorified, magnified, and worshiped with all our hearts? What if we all come expecting to see God do something amazing?
Would God be honored by our expectant hearts? Yes!
Has He promised to do great works among those who seek Him with their all? Yes!
Would it be obedient for us to come expecting Him in our worship? Yes!
Is He worth the extra passion and true desire that it would take to be real in our expectation? Yes!
Does God desire to use His people to shine His message to all? Yes!
Will you come expecting?
Brent Sheffield
Come Expecting…What If?
I'm still in a sense of awe and complete humility at the presence of God that we experienced last night. I am only now starting to be capable of forming complete sentences so give me some patience in reading my rambling.
There is a move of God taking place in the life of our church that is beyond mortal understanding with the breadth and depth we may never really grasp until the other side of eternity. I'm stunned and crushed at the passion with which our students and their leaders are pursuing real Godliness and His renown. I've seen spiritual highs in youth groups before, but nothing like this intensity and intentionality. Some mighty men and women of God are being raised up in our presence, and yet so many are unaware.
I wonder, could a fire for God truly spread throughout the church as a whole? I ask myself, is it something that is possible? The answer is a resounding and unquestionable YES!! God is calling us to rise in our desire to follow Him and to truly experience and celebrate His greatest gift of grace and salvation that He bought for us. What kind of power would we see if, as a church body, we determined that we would COME EXPECTING? We come expecting to see great wonders occur right before our eyes. We come expecting to raise the name of Jesus to heights we can only reach in praise. We come expecting to hear from God. We come expecting to answer Him. We come expecting to be sent out. We come expecting to see people saved. We come expecting lives to be broken and mended in worship. We come expecting to see repentance take place. We come expecting to repent as God reveals our sin to us. What if we COME EXPECTING GOD!?!
We read in scripture that people came to listen to Jesus because they had heard about awesome things happening. What if our church "marketing plan" was just to pave the way for God to work so mightily that people could not help but come expecting to see what God is doing in our presence? If we come expecting God, then God has promised that He will send His Spirit and fill us beyond all measure and understanding. I know that a couple of months ago, Bro. George mentioned that he was feeling something has been blocking the invitation time. Since then, I have gone to the altar every service to pray for the invitation. I have been praying in the name of Jesus to cast out all demons of distraction and that the Holy Spirit would be strong in drawing people down the aisle to seek salvation. What if the invitation time began not only with people walking to the stage to prepare the music, but also with people coming to the altar to pray for the invitation time!?! What if even before we step out of our cars on Sunday morning to walk across the parking lot, we stop to pray that God will be glorified, magnified, and worshiped with all our hearts? What if we all come expecting to see God do something amazing?
Would God be honored by our expectant hearts? Yes!
Has He promised to do great works among those who seek Him with their all? Yes!
Would it be obedient for us to come expecting Him in our worship? Yes!
Is He worth the extra passion and true desire that it would take to be real in our expectation? Yes!
Does God desire to use His people to shine His message to all? Yes!
Will you come expecting?
Brent Sheffield
Monday, January 4, 2010
Here I Go Again...
Here I Go Again…
And here I go again on my own
Goin’ down the only road I’ve ever known,
Like a drifter I was born to walk alone
And I’ve made up my mind
I ain’t wastin’ no more time.
But here I go again.Whitesnake -1987
You may be thinking to yourself, “That sure is a weird way to start 2010.” I am a product of the 80’s. I used to really love all the music of that time, the good and the ugly. In fact, I get so excited when the infomercial comes on the television advertising the music of that era. Malia just wants to leave the room because I know all the songs, and it drives her crazy. Anyway, the lyrics above were on my mind the other day and I couldn’t get rid of them. Not a great song to have stuck in there, but, none the less, it was stuck. I began thinking about it as it refers to the Christian walk. I very quickly came to the realization that this song is the opposite of the way a Christian should think. What is the road that we should be on? Are we on this walk alone? Is the Christian walk wasting my time? How different should the Christian walk be? What can we do to make a difference in our walk?
It was very interesting to see the Holy Spirit work. This past week as I was thinking about the Whitesnake song, I was also thinking about Colossians 3:12-14. Then as I came to church this past Sunday, the Pastor was using that exact verse in his sermon. It must be a God thing! Paul is very clear in Colossians 3 defining for us the road that we should follow. Paul starts out in chapter 3 telling us that our focus on life should be “on things above” (v. 1). This road is not the road that we have known all of our life. In fact, when we are born, we are headed down the wrong road. Then, once we have accepted Christ, our direction is changed and turned away from all the things of the flesh toward the things of the Spirit. This walk is not easy nor is it natural and it certainly is not a waste of time. This walk brings joy that, as humans, we can’t imagine. In verse 12, Paul reminds us that we are not on this road alone. We are “God’s chosen people.” We are on this Christian road with many others. We have a huge family from which to draw support and encouragement. Our walk should be filled with “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience” (Col. 3:12b). So often we clothe ourselves in things of the flesh. The flesh comes naturally, whereas, the Spirit comes supernaturally. We need to daily surrender to God’s will in our life and adorn the things of God.
This year as we work and minister with one another, may we have compassion for those we come in contact with displaying kindness to one another, humility that puts someone else’s needs above our own, gentleness even in the tough times, and patience which only God can give.
Here I go again…Clothing myself with the Spirit.
Aaron Hodges
And here I go again on my own
Goin’ down the only road I’ve ever known,
Like a drifter I was born to walk alone
And I’ve made up my mind
I ain’t wastin’ no more time.
But here I go again.Whitesnake -1987
You may be thinking to yourself, “That sure is a weird way to start 2010.” I am a product of the 80’s. I used to really love all the music of that time, the good and the ugly. In fact, I get so excited when the infomercial comes on the television advertising the music of that era. Malia just wants to leave the room because I know all the songs, and it drives her crazy. Anyway, the lyrics above were on my mind the other day and I couldn’t get rid of them. Not a great song to have stuck in there, but, none the less, it was stuck. I began thinking about it as it refers to the Christian walk. I very quickly came to the realization that this song is the opposite of the way a Christian should think. What is the road that we should be on? Are we on this walk alone? Is the Christian walk wasting my time? How different should the Christian walk be? What can we do to make a difference in our walk?
It was very interesting to see the Holy Spirit work. This past week as I was thinking about the Whitesnake song, I was also thinking about Colossians 3:12-14. Then as I came to church this past Sunday, the Pastor was using that exact verse in his sermon. It must be a God thing! Paul is very clear in Colossians 3 defining for us the road that we should follow. Paul starts out in chapter 3 telling us that our focus on life should be “on things above” (v. 1). This road is not the road that we have known all of our life. In fact, when we are born, we are headed down the wrong road. Then, once we have accepted Christ, our direction is changed and turned away from all the things of the flesh toward the things of the Spirit. This walk is not easy nor is it natural and it certainly is not a waste of time. This walk brings joy that, as humans, we can’t imagine. In verse 12, Paul reminds us that we are not on this road alone. We are “God’s chosen people.” We are on this Christian road with many others. We have a huge family from which to draw support and encouragement. Our walk should be filled with “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience” (Col. 3:12b). So often we clothe ourselves in things of the flesh. The flesh comes naturally, whereas, the Spirit comes supernaturally. We need to daily surrender to God’s will in our life and adorn the things of God.
This year as we work and minister with one another, may we have compassion for those we come in contact with displaying kindness to one another, humility that puts someone else’s needs above our own, gentleness even in the tough times, and patience which only God can give.
Here I go again…Clothing myself with the Spirit.
Aaron Hodges
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