pastor mike's blog

The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want

2012-02-05T09:00:00.000-05:00

The Lord is MY Shepherd I shall not Want!!!!!!! What is the reality that you walk in today. Is Christ your sufficiency?
All Spiritual warfare is waged over one essential question.
Who will control reality on Earth, Heaven or Hell? What reality controls your life? Is your love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and self control, based on the facts of your earthly life or the facts of your Heavenly life? David said The Lord Is My Shepherd I Shall Not Want. Is that because David had every good pleasure he could possibly have asked for while here on earth. Big bank account, power, along with the perfect family. I think not I don't believe David had any of these things at the time he wrote the 23rd Psalm. I believe when he states "I shall not want" it was because deep within him a work had been done in his heart that caused him to be at complete rest despite what the reality of his life said. The lie of the enemy appears most powerfully when men believe that this world as it is is the only world we can live in. Jesus said repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. When I choose to operate in Gods kingdom, according to the standards of his reign and rule, no ailment this world throws at me has the power to unseat me from the Love of God. "No weapon formed against me will prosper". There is a place of peace, fullness and complete contentment that I can walk in despite what all the earthly facts of my life say. No money no problem, no husband no problem, derelict wife, absent father, terrible job, bad kids etc.....The Lord id My Shepherd I shall not want. Frances Frangipane writes we will not know the fullness of Christ we can not live in the power of his resurrection until we stop reacting to every earthly circumstance that is hurled our way.
Psalm 118:5-6 "When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord: He brought me into a spacious place.
The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?
THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD I SHALL NOT WANT.
God bless hope you have a great day in the Lord today wherever you choose to worship.

Why we celebrate communion every week

2012-02-01T09:41:00.004-05:00

Until about a year ago we held communion about 4 times a year. Those were special times but they were far and few between. One day the suggestion came to make it available at every service. I felt it was a good idea but was it really a God idea? We decided to try it during the worship service. We encouraged our congregants as the Holy Spirit lead, to get up, go to the communion table and serve themselves and their family the Lord's supper.

At first most people were reluctant to move. Personally, I would wait until what I thought was an appropriate time during the worship service, I would gather my family and slip over to the table and partake of the cup and bread. Others would follow but it was always a small number. One Sunday morning before church, I was asking the Lord about this practice of offering communion every Sunday. I was still wondering if it was a God idea or just a good idea. That morning the Lord led me to my trusty Webster s Dictionary were He had me look up the word communion. It states "to converse together intimately: to have spiritual intercourse"

Then I heard the Lord say " I am inviting my people into an intimate relationship with me. By taking communion weekly, I am reminding them of the depth of this relationship, the cost of the relationship, and the median which makes this relationship possible. The broken body and the shed blood of my Son, Jesus Christ. I want My people to be reminded that the invitation to fellowship with Me is daily. 'As often as you drink it in remembrance of Me'".

That Sunday morning I shared with the fellowship what the Lord had showed me about the Lord's Supper. Many responded and continue to do so presently. It has become a treasured time in the life of our fellowship. I thank God for His leadings that calls us to converse intimately with Him.

The restoration of KJ Singing Waters Ranch?

2011-12-20T09:39:00.003-05:00

I want to take a minute to thank you for the interest you have shown in the Camp Singing Waters restoration project. It’s been great to reconnect with so many from the past. Just last week I corresponded with a past counselor. You might remember Jazz he served in the mid to late 80s, he reminded me that it was at Camp Singing Waters that in his words he said “I really fell in love with the Lord”. He went on to say that he is a teacher and continues to disciple high school students today, some 25 years later because of the influence that the ministry had on him back in the day. I also had lunch with a former ranch hand he spent six years at the camp and he spoke of the influence that the camp ministry had on his life as well. When I say ministry, I’m not speaking about some ambiguous force, I’m speaking about the Love of God being poured out on individuals lives. Thats what made the difference in the camp in those days, God met us time and time again and changed lives were the result.

So what is this restoration thing all about? Well its not just about land and buildings, its about restoring a place where once again God can do what God loves to do, change lives with his incredible love. Now you might be asking well can’t God do that any where? And the answer is yes he can. But I also believe that there are physical places that are very strategic to the Kingdom of God, and Camp singing Waters is one of them. I also believe that God is calling many of you to help make this restoration possible in order that the generations to come will have a place to go, and not only hear about the love of God but also experience it as well.

What do we need to make this restoration project a reality. As I have said before I have signed a lease to purchase agreement with the current owner. God through many of you have already provided over 20,000.00 as down payment. Over the course of the next 6 months we need an additional 450,000.00 of the remaining 630,000.00 needed to buy the place out right. The owner is willing to then owner finance the remaining 170,000.00. It is my ultimate desire that Singing Waters become completely debt free never to fall in disrepair again. Yes there are a lot of buildings that have to be restored or either torn down completely. But we can’t get started on the building projects until we get the land squared away. Please pray about what the Lord would have you give towards this project. No gift is to small. I believe if we all get behind it then it doesn’t have to be a burden on any one person.

2011-12-10T08:58:00.002-05:00

Many of you already know, but recently I signed a lease to purchase agreement on KJ Singing Waters Ranch. I was the camp director there for most of the 80's. My father bought the camp in 1979 and my family along with so many others worked hard to make it a great success. These pics are of my father and the sign that once hung over the front entrance to the camp. to see more about the vision for Singing Waters go to facebook and type in camp singing waters restoration project.

2011-12-10T08:49:00.001-05:00

The CRY method for prayer
So often we liken prayer to a formula. I was brought up with the acronym A>C>T>S you know Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. Its not a bad model in fact its a good model. Of course we have the Lords prayer
“Our father which art in heaven hallowed be thy Name Thy kingdom come Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”
Obviously this is a good plan as well. But as I read scripture there is a model that Is very prevalent in scripture, but talked about very little in our modern evangelicalism. I call it the CRY method. I'm not sure what it means in the Hebrew or Greek but the Wikipedia says to cry is the shedding of tears as a response to an emotional state in humans.” also called ( sobbing, weeping, bawling, and blubbering) I don't know about you but when I cry its usually because something has moved me very deeply. David writes in some 40 v1 “I waited patiently on the Lord he inclined his ear to me and heard my Cry.” Psalm 55:1 Give ear to my prayer O God, and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy.” I'm not sure about you but plea and cry are similar in there out put of emotion. Psalm 61:1-2 Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer, from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint, Lead me to the rock the is higher than I, for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy. Psalm 102:1 Hear my prayer, O Lord, let my cry come to you! Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress! Incline your ear to me, answer me speedily in the day when I call.Psalm 119:145 With my whole heart I cry, answer me, O Lord! verse 147. I rise before dawn and cry for help, I hope in your words verse 169-170 Let my cry come before you, O lord, give me understanding according to your word! let my plea come before you psalm 142:1 WITH MY VOICE I CRY OUT TO THE LORD, WITH MY VOICE I PLEAD FOR MERCY TO THE LORD.
Well you get the point a whole lot of emotion, tears, and loudness. I'm sure it would have been a little uncomfortable to be in one of Davids prayer meetings with all that bawling and squalling going on. And then there is a couple of New Testament illustrations that we can draw upon as well. Of course we know that in Luke 19:41 Jesus drew near to the city and wept over it. And then there is the story of blind Bartimaeus in Mark 10:46-48 A blind beggar named Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was coming down the road and began to CRY out Jesus, son of David have mercy on me Jesus son of David have mercy on me and the more he cried out the more the crowed tried to shush him. It says that many rebuked him and told him to be silent “But he CRIED all the more” And finally James 5:16 states that the effectual fervent prayer of the righteous man availeth much
Whats the point? So much of what we call prayer is with out any emotion. There is certainly no fervency nor urgency to it. When was the last time I wept for my community, or the condition of the children at the elementary school down the road from me. And what about the spiritual condition of the world around me we are quick to judge and share our disapproval of the immorality we see in so many. But I have yet to be in a prayer meeting where we have shed tears, bawled, blubbered, sobbed, and wept through the night for God to please do something. Every where in scripture that the CRY method was used God responded. David said in Psalm 40 “He turned his ear and heard”. How desperate are we? Its obvious by what I don’t hear, its safe to say not very. Whats the answer, prayer of course, God break my heart until I weep for the things that break your heart. Then maybe we to will be able to exclaim with confidence. He’s heard, He’s heard, and He has seen me, and he has answered!!!!!

The War Over Reality

2011-10-16T08:04:00.001-05:00

The War over Reality

All spiritual warfare is waged over one essential question.
Who will control reality on earth, Heaven or Hell?

The devil wants us to accept christianity and my life as it is, riddle with sin, sickness division, and spiritual impotency. He wants us to believe that this is the ultimate in Gods plan for man.

Satan wants us to agree with and reinforce his deceptive view of the world.
The lie of the enemy appears most powerfully when men believe that this world as it is the only world we can live in.
The truth is that God is establishing His kingdom and ultimately every other reality will submit to and be ruled by that kingdom.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

2011-10-12T11:37:00.002-05:00

God Has a unique way of blessing. At the moment I really don't have the money to be dropping 50.00 dollars a ticket to attend a Third Day concert, so what does the Lord do? He arranges for me to cook a jambalaya for the group prior to the concert. We got to eat dinner with the 3 bands that played last Thursday night at the Riverside Centriplex and had the chance to take pictures with Third Day. Michael and I had a great night of fellowship and fun, Oh did I mention the fact that I have never in my life cooked Jambalaya for more than five ? My How God works. Thanks Father.

A Sunday to Celebrate

2011-09-13T16:28:00.005-05:00

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Claire, and myself, posing with DJ Howard. Not only did DJ play in his first game in Tiger stadium Saturday night. Not only was it his first start as a kick off and punter for the Tigers. It was his first time to play in a football game period. Thats right prior to Saturday night Dj had never played in an organized football game. Not high School, not Middle school, not even elementary school. DJ has been a soccer player all his life and three years ago the Lord began to open doors for him to walk on at LSU. After many set backs and disappointments Gods word to DJ was fulfilled Saturday night. And we at Lifepoint celebrate God in DJ

End of an Era

2011-08-29T06:19:00.009-05:00

Tuesday morning at 10:45 in the lifepoint parking lot my 1999 gold ford truck burst into flames. It brings to an end years of faithful service to me and my family. Michael and myself both morned her loss, he grew up in that truck, learned to how to drive in it, and learned how to work out of her. Me, Jason Smith and the Hondurans spent a lot of time in that truck as well. We worked all over south Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. Me and Paul Guffy hauled tons and tons of scrap iron on her back. She never left me stranded. I used to thank God often for her and her faithfulness. We will miss you Miss Goldy

Where is Lifepoint?

2011-08-17T09:36:00.001-06:00

Psalm 71: 17-18
O God, You have taught me from my youth, and I still declare Your wondrous deeds. And even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me until I declare Your strength to this generation.

If I had one verse that I would consider a life verse it would be this one. I believe this verse sums up what many in the fellowship, called Lifepoint, originally joined together to do. To proclaim to this generation the wonders of our God.

So where is Lifepoint? Where have we been? Where are we going? Sometimes, you have to know the past in order to understand the future.

When Lifepoint was first founded, our vision and motivation was to provide a life-giving-fellowship that would reach out to those “twenty-something’s” who, as young people, were connected to the church, but for one reason or another were now dis-connected and had lost there way.

As Lifepoint has grown over the years, it appeared that we had moved away from our original vision and purpose. Often I have asked the question, “Father what about the twenty-something’s? [which are now in their thirty’s] Why have You held us back from accomplishing our original goal?” Until recently there had been no answer, but suddenly like a veil being removed, there it was I saw His answer!

One of the many lessons I’ve learned over my years in ministry, is that God seldom takes the straightest route to the intended destination. In fact, He often takes the long way around just as He did with the children of Israel, when He brought them out of slavery in Egypt. Although they had left Egypt physically, God knew their hearts had not. God’s ultimate “promised-land destination” now had to be postponed for a more important goal:
The goal of removing Egypt from their hearts. There were lessons to be learned!
-The removal of their independent spirit and in its place put a complete trust in God and His ways.
-Their longing for the things of Egypt had to be replaced with the realization that God satisfies all the longings of the heart.
-They had to learn obedience; that God is a Holy God who does not condone sinful disobedience.
-That God loved them, would go before them, and provide for there every need.
-They had to be trained for battle, but not the typical types of battle preparation. Gods battle preparations.

We at Lifepoint started out with a project in mind; something we felt that God wanted to accomplish through us. When one is learning to drive, it doesn’t take long to discover that a car has to be moving before it can be steered. God got us moving by instilling in our hearts a burden to reach a generation that has lost its way. We decided on a specific target group when it now seems that the Lord had something much bigger in mind.
What is that something? I believe God is about delivering us from ourselves. The children of Israel had to first be delivered from Egypt, and God then had to remove Egypt from their hearts. The promised land was set aside until this was accomplished. Likewise He has a plan for us as individuals as well as the corporate body.
What is this plan? In scripture, Egypt represents the world; its systems, traditions, politics, temptations and the earthly mindset that one can achieve, in one’s own power, without God. We, just like the children of Israel, must have Egypt [the world] removed from our hearts, in order for God to fulfill His purpose in and through us.

Francis Frangipane states:
What man calls “salvation” is simply the first stage of God’s plan for our lives: Which is to conform us in character and power into the image of Jesus Christ. If we fail to see our relationship to God as such we will allow too many areas within us to remain unchanged. Pulling down strongholds is the demolition and removal of our old ways of thinking, so that the actual presence of Jesus Christ can be manifested through us.

God’s plan is to make us into the likeness of His Son, and to make us into a people of God. Aubry said it well last week when he said to a young man in our church who had just given his heart to the Lord, “The Christian life is an exchanged life. We exchange our mind for His mind, our faith for His faith, our desires and actions for His desires and actions. We not only believe in Christ we believe like him.
1. [Philippians 2:5] “Have this attitude which was in Christ also.” It literally means to take on the mind of Christ.
2. [Galatians 2:20] “I have been crucified with Christ: and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

I literally take on the faith of Christ. Faith and trust in Christ leads us to salvation, the faith of Christ transforms us to his image.

Francis Frangipane:
"We must allow the increase of His presence to be so absorbed into our spirits that we not only believe in Him, we believe like Him. His thoughts, His love, His desires flow out from within us, as naturally as fruit from a vine."

That is the heart of God for you and me. In order for us to become the church He wants us to be, He has to transform us into the people He wants us to be. God is calling us to be conformed to the image of Christ because the more I’m conformed to His likeness; the more I have His heart. And the more I desire His heart, the more He can trust me and the more He trusts me, the more authority and power He makes available to me. And it’s in that place that I really become equipped to carry out the works He has created for me do. [Ephesians 2:10] I believe these works are more than just handing out bottles of water on a hot day or candy to children at a public event. There’s nothing wrong with this for Jesus said that if you give a cup of water to the least of these it’s as though you have given it to me. However, I believe God is calling us to so much more. In the age to come there will be no room for random, independent, half committed believers.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer said it well when he said “When Christ bid a man come, He bids him come and die”

Die for what? Die to what? He is calling us to die to ourselves, in order that the fullness of His Spirit might flow through us like a river flowing at flood stage, uncontainable and somewhat dangerous. That is what Jesus spoke of when He said in John 7:38, “He who believes in me, as the scripture said, “from his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.” Are you walking in the fullness of the Spirit with the evidence of life-giving water gushing forth in an uncontainable fashion?

I use to find it offensive when people spoke of being filled with the Spirit verses those who are not. It often seemed very condescending. But now I realize that throughout the book of Acts, the Scripture differentiates between believers filled with the Holy Spirit and those who are not. If the scripture characterizes believers in that way, then the question to be asked is, “Am I full of the Holy Spirit? And what evidences is there of that fullness?” There will always be overwhelming evidences when a man or woman is walking in the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

I’m no rocket scientist, but containing the force of a river is a difficult task. But when you direct that power or when the flow is harnessed it accomplishes incredible things that can power entire cities. What a comparison, Jesus makes here, He says that our lives will have the same force as that of a hard charging, barely containable river.
In order for the church to regain her influence over the culture of our day, in order to advance His Kingdom, we will have to collectively become a people walking in the fullness of the Holy Spirit, carrying out the very works of Jesus. We can no longer dismiss or rationalize Christ’s words in John 14:12 where Jesus says, “Truly, truly I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do: because I go to the Father.”

I am often asked “Mike how are things at Lifepoint?” I usually respond, “Things are fine.” But what I long to say is what Jesus said to the disciples of John in Luke 7:22 when they asked, “Are you the one or should we look for another?” To which He replies, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard, the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.”

I believe God is longing for us to carry out these (and greater) works that Christ did for a people that desperately need His love displayed through a miraculous touch from Him. He will not give that authority and power to just any people. He will give it to those closest to his heart, who share his likeness.

What is the conclusion of all of this? Simply this, we started out to do one thing, God said, “Sure we can do that, but first, in order to accomplish this, we’re going to make a detour into the wilderness, because I have a few things to teach you. And when I know your prepared then we will attack that original dream you had.”

What’s the original dream? To declare to this generation the wonders of our God. And that, my friends, is exactly what He’s doing.

Where is Lifepoint? Like the children of Israel we stand looking across the Jordan and our future is before us. The question that begs to be asked is, “Will you join us in crossing over into the fullness Christ has for us and fight to take the land?” Or will you be left on the bank of the your familiarity? God is bringing those who have been away from Him back to Himself. This is evident because I prayed with two prodigals last week and baptized two river dwellers a few weeks ago. They’re not all “twenty something’s”, but, oh well... the harvest is coming...are you coming too?

First day of ninth grade for Claire

2011-08-12T07:55:00.002-06:00

Last week was the beginning of a new era for Claire and us as a family. The beginning of High School. I cant believe its here. It was just yesterday were anticipating her birth. What a beautiful young women she is becoming both inside and out. Yes I'm a very proud father.

Taking back my territory by Amy Scott

2011-08-01T07:29:00.003-06:00

Sunday at the baptismal service for Amy Scott and Shane Bethea, Amy read this declaration just before she was baptized. Both Shane and Amy have wonderful stories of Gods redeeming love. It was a remarkable morning In the Lord

Today I am declaring to all powers, principalities, every demon and to

the devil himself, that I am dead indeed to sin but alive in Christ

Jesus my Lord. No longer will I walk in the dictates of the flesh, but

from this day forth I will walk after the dictates of the spirit. I am

no longer under the control of the kingdom of darkness because I have

turned my face to the kingdom of light. Any generational curses lose

ALL POWER AND CONTROL over me today. All judgement that is held against

me, I say to my accuser yes I am guilty of being a sinner, but no

longer will I be your slave, and a slave to sin. I serve the Most

High, the One true Living God, and His voice only will I listen to and

obey. I thank You Father that I have been grafted into the chosen race,

a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, God's own special people, and

that I may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and

perfections of Him who has called me out of darkness and into His

marvelous light, in the name of Jesus!!

Food for Thought July 25th

2011-07-27T05:55:00.005-06:00

Francis Frangipane
"We must allow the increase of His presence to be so absorbed into our spirits that we not only believe in Him, we believe like Him. His thoughts, His love, His desires flow out from within us, as naturally as fruit from a vine."

Not only do we believe "in Him we believe like Him". Galatians 2:20 (KJV) puts it this way.
" I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." this verse compels us to not only have faith in Jesus Christ but I take on the literal faith of Jesus, the faith of Jesus. His faith becomes my faith. Philippians 2:5 says "have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus" nasb The literal translation is "Let this mind be in you" Let the very mind of Christ be in you" His faith replaces your faith, His thoughts become your thoughts. You say how can this be? Well I have been married 23 years this past July 9th and I can assure you that often Ellen's thoughts have become my thoughts and my thoughts, hers. How many times have we completed each others sentences or finish each others thoughts. If this happens in an earthly relationship, how much more can it happen when I walk in the fullness of the Spirit of God, that is the Holy Spirit.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit I am able to take my thoughts captive which lets His thoughts begin to dominate more of my thinking. Before you know it I'm believing like He believes. As I take on more of the mind of Christ the more I take on the faith not only in but the very faith Of Jesus. It affects my actions to the point that I begin to reflect his actions in every area of my life. Paul states in verse 2 of Philippians 2 "Make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintain the same love, united in spirit intent on one purpose."

In John 8:28 Jesus says "I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these thing as the Father taught Me." This implies a will, Jesus says He does nothing on His own initiative which implies that He could if He wanted to but He chooses not to. This is an active act of humility and obedience. When asked how we should pray? Jesus says "Thy will be done". Jesus walked in a place of obedience and humility before the Father. The will of the Father was His priority in all of life. This takes a lot of the mystery out of Jesus. So often we excuse our lack of obedience by saying well Jesus did this and Jesus did that because He Is God. And He is. But the fact of the matter is "He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death even death on a cross"
So to we must be willing to (yield) maybe that word is not strong enough, how about die to our will in Order to carry out His will. "Thy will be done" !!! Our expectation of His will being done when we pray this is that Heaven is going to open up and some great force will flow out of the heavens and cause the rivers to flow backwards and gravity to cease. The real miracle is what takes place in our hearts.Thy will be done, not my will, the miracle is that I begin to die to my will so that His will might be carried out all the more. Proverbs 3:5-6 states it clearly "lean not on your own understanding, In all your ways acknowledge Him."

Lord Jesus let me die this day to my will so that Your will will take preeminence over mine. That my mind may become completely submitted to the mind of your Son, Jesus. That my weak and faltering faith would be replaced by the strong and reassuring Faith of your Son Jesus Christ. In order that your kingdom may come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Block Party

2011-07-25T07:01:00.005-06:00

Sunday evenings block party brought some of my good friends and family together. Lifepoint, Greater Faith Outreach, and the guys from our Tuesday morning Bible study and basketball group all got together to cook, play music, and just fellowship, The activity took place on the corner of rodeo drive next to the park. All in all we had about 150 kids and adults stop by for the festivities.

Food for Thought

2011-07-14T19:41:00.001-06:00

Francis Frangipane writes:
It is quite difficult to break the power of religious self-deception, for the very nature of faith is to give no room for doubt. Once a person is deceived, he does not recognize that he is deceived, because he has been deceived! For all that we think we know, we must know this as well:

We can be wrong

If we refuse to accept this truth,how will we ever be corrected from our errors?

As I look back over the course of my life I wonder how many times I thought I had arrived in my thinking about a particular subject, only to find sometime later I really didn't know the half of it. After all how can we agree with Isaiah " His understanding is inscrutable" if we have it all figured out. God's ways are not our ways thats why we are reminded not to lean on our own understandings or to be wise in our own eyes. How much of God have I missed out on because He did not fit my understanding. The pharisees missed Jesus because he didn't fit there thinking, and so many men and women today miss God for the same reasons. Who is God that He should have to fit our man made boxes of religion and theology. Sure I believe God has ordained and put into place a certain order to life and how He relates to man, (i.e. Jesus) but our been there and done that approach to God all but shuts the door on the wonders of the King of Kings the Lord of Lords. We would be better off containing Niagara falls with a thimble than to try to comprehend and draw conclusions on all of the ways of God. But how many theologians today present there dogmatic versions of God as complete truths with no thought that they may not hold all truth. In reality we have drawn many religious boxes that we try to force God into. When in fact God is very claustrophobic. He does not do boxes. So what am I saying?
I am coming to understand that I really don't understand nearly what I thought I did 10 years ago. And in order for me to come to this conclusion I had to realize the truth about what Francis Frangipane states in the quote above. I could be wrong, No not wrong I don't think I have been wrong in all I have believed I think I have been only Half right. I have held a myriad of half truths about God and his plans for us as sons and daughters. When I let go of my ways and seek Him and His ways so much of that Child like wonder returns to me. After all Psalm 103:5 says "who satisfies your years with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle."

Faith in and Of the Holy Spirit By Jim Cymbala

2011-07-14T12:47:00.002-06:00

This sermon explains better than any i have heard to date, about the need for the fulness of the Holy Spirit in a believer. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

My favorite girls

2011-07-06T19:39:00.002-06:00

What great memories of a special time and place with my favorite girls in all the world.

The knoll above the town of Crested Butte

2011-06-27T11:33:00.005-06:00

As I've mentioned before our trip to Crested Butte was filled with lots of fun stuff to see and do. But it was also a time for me to be still, and this knoll became my favorite place to pray and read. Papa gave me several things to think and pray about as I sat on the bench on top of this knoll. One of the things I realized was that I was just high enough above the city that I could view the entire town, but I was not so removed that I couldn't hear all the sounds of the city. I could hear the rushing of the river that ran along the bottom of the hill. I could also see the people very clearly as they walked the streets, worked in there yards and went about the chores of daily life. I heard the dogs bark and the laughter of children playing in the nearby park. I was high enough above the city to have a completely different perspective than those walking, working, and living at street level. I was in the town but not of the town. I was very aware of the passage that says were to be in the world but not of it. We are very aware of all that takes place in the lives of those around us but we live from a heavenly point of view. Ephesians 2:6 remind us that positionally we are seated with Him in the in the heavenly places. This is not just rhetoric that has no earthly application to my daily living. I believe it impacts life spiritually the same way my view from the knoll impacted my view of life in Crested Butte. Many things transition when I begin to view life from my heavenly vantage point, but probably the biggest change takes place in the removal of the weight and stress that comes with street level living. After all Isaiah 40:31 states that " those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength: they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired. They will walk and not become weary." That is a statement of freedom and its clearly a vantage point that effects the overall quality of my life. Lord let me see and live life not from a street level perspective but from my heavenly seat that you have seated me in. Bring greater revelation to my world from this heavenly perspective.

Scenes from Crested Butte

2011-06-27T05:31:00.001-06:00

Crested Butte Colorado

2011-06-25T07:19:00.007-06:00

Hey lifepoint church I'm writing from Crested Butte Colorado just wanted to let you know all is well. I hope to post some pics shortly of our trip it has been an amazing time here with my family. We've hiked,played in snow drifts 4&5 feet deep and swam in the heated pool. But we also have had some great moments with the Lord. I found a knoll just out side the city that I can hike to with my bible. It's just above the city so you can see out over the city but your not so high that your removed frome the sights and sounds of it. It's been here that I've had some great times with Father God. Praying for you and hearing from the father. I look forward to being able to share more. I will see you July3rd God Bless all

The Prayer House

2011-05-30T04:05:00.002-06:00

People stoping by to pray on thursday @ The Prayer House @ Lifepoint. We will begin opening on Tuesday mornings as well the times are 7:30am-1:00pm

prayer for Israel

2011-05-30T03:32:00.006-06:00

These words were given to a women who meets to pray for Israel every Thursday. She is a member of a Methodist Church in Lafayette. God gave her these words recently right after she found out the position the Methodist take on the issue of a divided Israel for the sake of a Palestinian nation. I thought they were truly from the heart of God.
“My house shall be a house of prayer, I will not be mocked. No weapon formed against me will prosper. I am coming soon and judgment begins in the house of the Lord. Do not stand before me teaching falsehoods and lies. Do not compromise my people Israel . I have given them the place of honor at My table, a feast before all men, a place where no eye has seen nor ear heard the gracious calling of my Name. My power and authority will roam the earth to find those who have now bowed down and given into Baal. Decide now whom you will serve, Me, the Holy One of Israel or the church of deception mounting its people for destruction. Redeem my people with MY WORD. Set the captives free and humble yourself in the presence of the Lord. For I will rise when the Morning Star comes. I will reign when the Son of God once more is revealed. I will bring peace to those who persevere and honor me. I will bring destruction upon all who don’t. My place of honor, my banquet feast is ready for the Bride – who will come. Who will come? Who will come?”

Michaels Mohawk

2011-05-27T06:01:00.001-06:00

I have an awesome son, even with this crazy hair cut, oh to be young again>

The Heart of Prayer House

2011-05-27T05:02:00.006-06:00

Lifepoint Church along with other churches in our community i.e. Luke 10:27 are coming together to establish prayer houses. What is a prayer house? it is a church that opens up its sanctuary during the week for people to pray. The Prayer House is not limited to a denomination or people of a particular doctrinal or theological belief. However we do have some guidelines we like to go by to help us in our times of prayer.

These are some thoughts about our intentions for prayer @ The Prayer House.

We believe prayer is to be:
A. Scripture lead ( The prayers that are prayed in the New Testament by our Lord and the Apostle set a pattern for strategic praying and its our heart that we take our lead from, not to the exclusion of other prayers

B. Worship centered ( We believe that prayer that comes out of a heart of worship tends to be more God centered Jesus prayed "thy kingdom come thy will be done" )

C. Presence driven ( We believe that when we pray we are coming into the very throne room of God, and that we need to pray with that awareness Acts.13:2 "they were ministering to the Lord" It is our desire that @The Prayer House those who pray see themselves as ministers before the Lord )

Our expectations @ The Prayer House are

A. To see God (Paul prays that the church at Ephesus would receive a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him)

B. To experience Life change ( you can't meet with Jesus and stay the same)

C. To be World impacting (when I change, the atmosphere around me changes, and the world begins to change, one person at a time

What do we hope to accomplish @ The Prayer House?

1st It is to help bring realignment to the church regarding prayer, Jesus quoted Isaiah 56:7 when he said "My house will be called a house of prayer for all the people"

2nd To see the power of God displayed through the gifting of his people in a greater measure than we have known, in order that we might carry out the advancement of his Kingdom in the fashion that is prescribed in scripture.

3rd Give a place for the weary, wounded, and broken hearted, to be able to come in and find rest for there weary souls and healing for there broken bodies.

minor surgery

2011-02-14T08:48:00.001-05:00

As one man said and I have come to understand its only minor surgery when someone else is going through it. Last Friday I had a hernia procedure done. It was my first time to ever have any kind of medical procedure that required me being put to sleep. I have to admit I was a little nervous going in, but every thing worked out fine and I am recovering well. Thanks for all your prayers

2011-02-07T12:18:00.006-05:00

What a great weekend in the Lord. We started Friday night at Shiloh Baptist Church retreat ground. Over 30 of the Lifepoint family were able to attend. Kevin led us in worship and for 3 hours we worshiped and prayed. One of the many scriptures he brought to my mind during this time is found in Acts 13:2 it says (paraphrasing) they were gathered together in one place ministering to the Lord, or worshiping the Lord and the Holy Spirit spoke. What a site people gathered together ministering to the Lord. The thought that we can minister to the Lord through worship boggles my mind. What is man that thou art mindful of us?
Then on Sunday morning during the worship service as I looked around I saw a scene that many would consider a complete lack of respect toward worship. If you define worship by what we have been taught, that is people standing or sitting still and doing nothing but singing. Yes some were singing but many were not, I saw people walking around some were praying with each other at the alters while others were in the back delivering encouraging words or words of wisdom. Some were waving banners and some were lifting hands while others were on there faces before the Lord. About the time I wanted to cry out stop lets pay attention everybody be still. The Lord brought another verse to my mind and it is from 1 Peter 2:9 It says you are a chosen race a royal priesthood. That verse connected to the verse from the previous day about the church ministering to the Lord, and all of a sudden it made sense. Then the Holy Spirit spoke and brought confirmation to what I was seeing He said " I am raising up a congregation of priest who will minister to me and to my people". Then it dawned on me that that is exactly what I was watching a body of priest performing priestly duties before the Lord. The Lord also reassured me that what he is doing is a new thing, or should I say a different thing. It is different from any thing I have ever known. How many of you know God is in the business of tearing down boxes, and shattering old paradigms about the way things are suppose to be. Blessed be our God who makes all things new.

2011-02-03T07:35:00.003-05:00

After a long hiatus I'm back, thanks to a new computer I hope to make a return to the blogging scene . I hope this post finds all well. Its suppose to be a snowy February morning here in South Louisiana but so far just a lot of talk even though all the schools have canceled in anticipation of it. So much of our lives is lived much like we view snow in the south the thought of it is enough to paralyze us for days when in fact the fear is never realized How much of my life has been spent in fear of things never realized, just a thought.
Wow already a month into the new year. I have great anticipation of the year 2011 I believe many things that have been hidden from the body in the past will be revealed to us in this new year. I look forward to seeing all that God has for us. I am in great anticipation of our prayer retreat coming up in a couple of days I believe God has some things to say to us I look forward to hearing what he has to say.
Hope to see you at the retreat

2009-12-07T14:00:00.002-05:00

Special thanks to Mike McCain what a great job he did on Sunday morning in the worship service. His eye witness account of the life of Christ was a blessing to every one in attendance. I bless God for meeting with us like He did. Before the service began I had a tremendous burden for our body of believers. There seems to be so many needs in the fellowship at this time. However it seemed like many of those burdens were lifted yesterday during the prayer time.

Thank you Jesus

michael comes home

2009-11-04T10:23:00.002-05:00

November 17th Michael will come home from Costa after being there for the last six months. We look forward to having the family back together again for a little while anyway.

Forgiveness

2009-03-02T10:04:00.002-05:00

These thought are from John Piper I used them in the service on Sunday Morning as I preached through the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6 Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

Let me begin with a definition of forgiveness that we owe to each other. It comes from Thomas Watson about 300 years ago. He is commenting on the Lord's Prayer, "Forgive us our debts as we for give our debtors," and asks,

Question: When do we forgive others?

Answer: When we strive against all thoughts of revenge; when we will
not do our enemies mischief, but wish well to them, grieve at their
calamities, pray for them, seek reconciliation with them, and show
ourselves ready on all occasions to relieve them. (Thomas Watson,
/Body of Divinity/, p. 581)

I think this is a very biblical definition of forgiveness. Each of its parts comes from a passage of Scripture.

1. Resist thoughts of revenge: Romans 12:19
"Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God,
for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord."
2. Don't seek to do them mischief: 1 Thessalonians 5:15
"See that no one repays another with evil for evil.
3. Wish well to them: Luke 6:28
"Bless those who curse you."
4. Grieve at their calamities: Proverbs 24:17
"Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad
when he stumbles."
5. Pray for them: Matthew 5:44
"But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you."
6. Seek reconciliation with them: Romans 12:18
"If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men."
7. Be always willing to come to their relief: Exodus 23:4
"If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey wandering away, you shall surely
return it to him."

Here is forgiveness: when you feel that someone is your enemy or when you simply feel that you or someone you care about has been wronged, forgiveness means,

1. resisting revenge,
2. not returning evil for evil,
3. wishing them well,
4. grieving at their calamities,
5. praying for their welfare,
6. seeking reconciliation so far as it depends on you,
7. and coming to their aid in distress.

My Eyes Are Dry

2009-02-16T05:30:00.002-05:00

My Eyes Are Dry

Words and Music by Keith Green

My Eyes are Dry, my faith is old.

My heart is hard, my prayers are cold,

And I know how I ought to be,

Alive to You and dead to me.

Oh what can be done, for an old heart like mine.

Soften it up, with oil and wine.

The oil is You, Your Spirit of love,

Please wash me anew, In the wine of your blood

My Eyes are Dry, my faith is old.

My heart is hard, my prayers are cold,

And I know how I ought to be,

Alive to You and dead to me.

It's early morning and I am reflecting on the message from yesterday

Our Father who art in Heaven Hallowed be thy name

My Prayer for myself and those around me is that my heart would be stirred this week with a fresh Passion for the Holiness of God. Which means to me a renewed passion for personal holiness. The scripture does say be holy for I am holy, I know I cant make that happen all I can do is pray for it, and for me and you to be white hot with a passion for it. Lord stir in us, renew in us, a passion for you. Like Kieth Greens song suggests it is so easy to become hard hearted with cold prayers. Father in Heaven you who see all and know everything about me remove the dross from my life this weak that nothing would keep me from you.
God Bless
Mike D

2009-02-11T11:29:00.001-05:00

9Pray, therefore, like this: Our Father Who is in heaven, hallowed (kept holy) be Your name.

10Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

11Give us this day our daily bread.

12And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven ([a]left, remitted, and let go of the debts, and have [b]given up resentment against) our debtors.

13And lead (bring) us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Dear Lifepoint fellowship
As we begin to study prayer on Sunday mornings, as taught by Jesus through the Lords prayer. Please begin to spend some time meditating on this scripture we need to hear from the Father in regards to what he wants in the area of prayer both individually and corporately.

Thanks Mike

Snow Day at the Di Maria's

2008-12-22T10:12:00.001-05:00

I love the snow and when it started snowing all I could do was praise the Lord, because I new he let it snow just for me.

In the back yard with Rosemary and Boris

2008-11-22T14:53:00.000-05:00

2008-11-22T14:43:00.001-05:00

I am very thankful to the Lord for the great fall conference we had at Lifepoint The Theme was Arise oh people of God. I believe that that is exactly whats happening. God is awaking His people to there great need for Him. I am very appreciative to Pastor Boris not only for his teaching and participation in the conference but also his friendship we had a wonderful time together.

My tribute to Mrs. Vivien

2008-10-26T22:25:00.007-05:00

Ellen's mom went to be with the Lord last Tuesday morning at 12:22 am. This is what I shared at her wake the night before the funeral
I have a picture of Mrs. Vivien that will forever be in my mind. We were at the beach and she was sitting on the balcony. All around her were the sights, sounds and smells of everything she loved. The sun was beginning to set over the back bay and there was a cool breeze blowing off the coast. The sound of the water lapping against the shore and the smell of seafood cooking wafting through the condo. But even more important to her were the voices, the loud voices of all her children and grandchildren laughing and playing in the background. The picture that I will always remember was that of her smile. She just seemed to radiate with a beautiful smile. We thought then that we were going to lose Mrs. Vivien but the beach always brought out the best in her. God gave us five more months before He took her home.

Proverbs 2:1-8
The Benefits of Wisdom
1 My child,listen to what I say, and treasure my commands.
2 Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding.
3 Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding.
4 Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures.
5 Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord,and you will gain knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest.
He is a shield to those who walk with integrity.
8 He guards the paths of the just
and protects those who are faithful to him.

I came to Bunkie over 20 plus years ago I was in pursuit of a beautiful young blond that would later become the love of my life. I was a young minister that thought he knew it all. There is a big difference between head knowledge and wisdom, intellect and understanding. It is one thing to know about something, it's another to really know it, experience it, and to live it. I knew family was important, but as I watched Mr C.A. and Mrs Vivien, they demonstrated it. I knew about God's love but through them I saw a living demonstration of what it means to love unconditionally. I knew about the importance of giving, but they gave. They gave their time, their love, their money and their very lives. Not just to family, but to this community and to the less fortunate. Jesus said when you have done it to the least of these you have done it to me. The poet Edgar Guest said it well.
Id rather see a sermon than hear one any day.
Id rather one should walk with me that merely tell me the way
The eye is a better pupil and more willing than the ear.
Fine counsel is confusing but example is always clear.
And the best of all the preachers are the ones who live their creeds for to see good put into action is what we all need.
The Voelkers were not paid clergy like me and Father Jack but they preached loud and clear what they believed by the way they chose to live their lives.

Mrs. Vivien was far from perfect. She had her own set of demons she fought with and we all have endured her scorn. I remember putting crabs and fish in her brand new watermelon looking ice chest and then leaving them there for a couple of days. That did not go over real well. But over a period of time I was able to work back into her good graces. Mrs Vivian and I shared a couple of passions together. She loved seafood as do I. There were many times we would sit down to eat boiled crabs or shrimp and after several hours it would be just the two of us left eating.
Mrs. Vivien loved her church, her family, her husband, but most importantly she loved her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
We often talked about the things she was learning. She was always growing in her faith.
Almost four years ago now the doctors told Mrs. Vivien that her kidneys were failing and if she didn't go on dialysis she would not make it six months. At about the same time we learned of a nun in Baton Rouge who had the gift of healing. So we made an appointment for her to go see Sister Dolce. I met Mrs. Vivien in in the driveway that afternoon after her visit with Sister Dolce because I wanted to hear about this woman's gift. She said she had a wonderful visit and that Sister Dolce was a wonderful lady. I asked, "But Mrs. Vivien are you healed?" Her reply was one that I will never forget. She said, "I don't know if I am healed or not but I do know this, I have and incredible sense that what ever happens it's going to be okay." Once again I was learning from Mrs. Vivien about true faith. The skeptics say where is your God? We can't see him how do you know he exists? True faith is not what you see with the eye but what you experience in your heart.
Hebrews 1 States
1 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.
Mrs Vivian had every reason at that moment in in her life to be full of anger, anxiety, doubt, fear etc. but instead she had an over whelming peace. That peace came from her relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus said in
John 14:1 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home.[a] If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.”
The Apostle Paul said to be absent from Christ is to be present with the Lord. A day before Mrs. Vivien went to be with the Lord she was staring off in what seemed to be space when Valerie called out, "Mom what do you see?", her response " I see Heaven".
The great preacher D.L. Moody on his death bed after being unconscious said earth recedes, Heaven opens before me Will (his son) Will this is no dream. It is beautiful it is like a trance. If this is death it is sweet. God is calling me and I must go. Several hours later for the last time he came to and said "Will I went to the gate of heaven it was wonderful and I saw the children Irene and Dwight."
Hours before Mrs. Vivien went to be with the Lord we gathered around her bed to pray. Someone said lets pray for Momma. As I began to pray I realized that I need the prayer not her. We are the ones who grieve we are the ones who have lost. We are the ones that need comfort. God of all comfort please comfort us in this time of great grief. In a time like this I am reminded of a quote about God that says
Thou art great and we are small
Thou art infinite and we are finite
Thou art everything and we are nothing
Thou art eternal and we tarry but for a while
but with all of thy power and all of thy greatness thou doest bend down low and listen to the sound of our tears as they strike the ground.

I am forever indebted to Mrs. Vivien for the many lessons of faith, life and love that she taught me.

My cheerleader

2008-10-16T09:01:00.000-05:00

2008-10-13T08:58:00.001-05:00

Matthew 5
The Sermon on the Mount
1Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
2And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

2008-10-06T10:36:00.000-06:00

This was lifepoint the first year of our existence.

2008-10-06T10:34:00.000-06:00

Lifepoint when we first started 3 years ago.

Remeber when

2008-10-06T10:29:00.000-06:00

This was the nursury when we first started at life point.

2008-09-30T05:16:00.005-06:00

Revival

A new beginning of obedience
Charles Finney

God brimg revival to my heart.

Mike Di Maria

2008-07-28T10:25:00.003-06:00

Faith, without it, it is impossible to please God. I believe this past weekend was all about faith. God calls us to step out and put feet to our faith. We can talk about wining the world for Christ but until we step out in faith and begin to engage the world how can we expect to reach it. I think God would say to the members at Lifepoint after this past weekend well done. You say how many came to Christ? How many joined the church? Well I am not sure. But I don't think the results are as important to the Lord as the act of obedience was on our part. It starts with our obedience to move out and then God moves to meet us, often the people we thought he was going to bring to us are not the ones He ultimately touches. I don't always understand it but that is what I have experienced. We have had children Show up to VBS that had no connection to anything this past weekend but some how they found out about it. Which says to me that if we will be obedient to act God will take care of the rest. Often in our results oriented world we hang everything on the end result paying little attention to the learning growing process that God has us in. I am pleased with the many little acts of kindness I saw demonstrated over the past few days and I believe God was pleased also. So be encouraged.
Thanks again for all your help. As we continue in the journey to discover Church as God intends it.

2008-07-28T10:13:00.004-06:00

2008-07-15T09:06:00.003-06:00

Dear Church at Lifepoint

I am very pleased to let you know that in the past two weeks we have made some great progress on the new youth room and children's area. Last week we hooked up the electrical for a 5 ton air conditioner. This would have normally cost thousands of dollars but thanks to Gods gracious provision we only spent about 400.00 dollars instead. We are currently waiting on the duck work to be made in order to connect it to the building.
This week thanks to Paul Henderson's crew the walls are being insulated and sheet rocked. This work is being done at about half the normal cost.
Thanks be to God for his provision in this area.
Now all we need is for God to raise someone up to begin to build a Children's ministry. I believe it is key to reaching young families of our community. It will come God will provide.
If you can give some extra to cover some of these extra out lays it would be appreciated. This week we will spend and extra 2000.00 dollars on labour and supplies please pray with us about this.
God bless.
Mike D

God's gift.

2008-07-14T06:20:00.002-06:00

Many times I stand in front of young couples at there wedding and talk about seeing there mate as a gift from God. And it is true the longer I am married the more I see how true it is. Last week Ellen and I celebrated our 20Th wedding anniversary. What a gift she is to me. I LOVE YOU sweetheart.

The Holy Spirit and the Church

2008-07-10T08:29:00.003-06:00

In Ken Boa's book "Conformed to His Image". He writes and I quote
"The church is not primarily an institution but a spiritual organism that must depend on personal and collective visitations of the Holy Spirit for its continued vitality. He quotes Jim Cymbala who argues that unless congregations persistently call upon the Lord, their store of spiritual power will dissipate with time. Without the Spirits unction, the divine Presence will not be evident in our worship and service"
As I read this it has reinforced my conviction that this Friday nights prayer meeting is of the utmost importance to the vitality of our Church. I believe that our prayer focus as of late out of Acts 4:23-31 is right on track as well. We desperately need to see God pour out on us with a fresh visitation of His Spirit. In both our individual lives and in the church corporate.
Ken Boa goes on to write that the church needs both the fire of the spirit and the light of the word. Power without sound teaching is vulnerable to shallowness and lack of discernment; Doctrine without the power is vulnerable to dryness and spiritual torpor. A balanced Spirit-filled spirituality seeks to unite the mind and the heart instead of setting them in opposition to one another.
Amen. God Bless
Pastor Mike Di Maria

You won't relent, by Misty Edwards

2008-06-16T08:31:00.001-06:00

Remembering Dad the day after Fathers day

2008-06-16T07:31:00.002-06:00

Someone ask me if I had thought much about my father on fathers day being that this is the first fathers day since his home going. To be honest I really didn't have much time to think about it yesterday. But this morning when all was quiet reality struck once again.
Dad I miss you

2008-06-16T06:48:00.002-06:00

Sorry for such a long delay since the last post. I have been on vacation and when I came home and try ed to blog it would not let me in. I had a hard time trying to access the account. However I think I have the problem worked out. Look for some up dates in the near future. The most important thing coming up with us is the new surgery date for Claire. We are looking at Wed June 25. Please begin to pray about this surgery.
Thanks
Mike D

HOME AT LAST

2008-05-08T09:29:00.003-06:00

Praise God Claire is finally home from the Hospital. I know that others have to endure much more than we have but that doesn't change how blessed we feel about being home. Thank God and thank you for all your prayer's for our family.

More Costa Rica

2008-05-06T07:56:00.001-06:00

Ephesians 1:15-23

2008-05-06T07:05:00.001-06:00

15 Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere,[e] 16 I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, 17 asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom[f] and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. 18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.[g]
19 I pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. 21 Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. 22 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. 23 And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself

The Woundrous Cross

2008-05-01T16:50:00.003-06:00

2008-04-02T18:49:00.012-06:00

Thanks again for all your prayers while we were out of the country. These pictures are of the pastor's training facilities. Jason serves as the on sight project manager during the construction phase of the program. I was very impressed with the work that he and Sarah are apart of.

2008-04-02T18:49:00.004-06:00

Claire

Sarah Kathryn on the beach with Ellen

Dear friends and family
What and interesting week. On Monday morning our dear friend Eric Ball called me to let me know that he had been praying for me and that God had given him Psalm 91 to pray for me.
Psalm 91
1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 This I declare about the Lord:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
he is my God, and I trust him.
3 For he will rescue you from every trap
and protect you from deadly disease.
4 He will cover you with his feathers.
He will shelter you with his wings.
His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
5 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,
nor the arrow that flies in the day.
6 Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness,
nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
7 Though a thousand fall at your side,
though ten thousand are dying around you,
these evils will not touch you.
8 Just open your eyes,
and see how the wicked are punished.

9 If you make the Lord your refuge,
if you make the Most High your shelter,
10 no evil will conquer you;
no plague will come near your home.
11 For he will order his angels
to protect you wherever you go.
12 They will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.
13 You will trample upon lions and cobras;
you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!

Little did I know that later that day we would find out that Sarah Katheryn would be diagnosed with Pneumonia and it would be discovered that Claire has a tissue mass on her lung. It's in moments that like this you have to decide what your going to put your trust in. Can I take the good things from God and not accept the bad things that come as well. Can I really take God at his word when he says not to dread the disease that stalks in the darkness. We have chosen to trust no matter what.I am reminded of Brennan Manning's words when he writes that trust is our gift back to God and He is so enchanted by it that Jesus died for Love of it.
Well as it has turned out Claire's lung does have a tissue mass on it but it is not cancerous. It will require surgery and we talk to the surgeon on Thursday to understand more about the procedure. However we have not given up hope of a miraculous healing if God would chose to do so.
Thank you so much for all your prayers and support.
God is Amazing.
We love you
Mike Di Maria

Easter Sunday

2008-03-27T08:22:00.004-05:00

What a wonderful Easter Sunday.

Special thanks go out to Tenya for her coordination of the drama that was put on Sunday Morning. I am also thankful for those who participated in it as well. The music was great and Laura Picard did a wonderful job with "When I survey the wondrous cross"

I am very grateful for the way the Lord met us at the train station during the sunrise service. Thank you father for answering my prayers.

Don't forget extended prayer and worship Friday night at 7:00. I look forward to seeing everyone there.
God Bless

2008-03-21T08:07:00.003-05:00

2Corinthians 10:3-5(Amplified)

3For though we walk (live) in the flesh, we are not carrying on our warfare according to the flesh and using mere human weapons.

4For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds,

5[Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasoning's and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One),

With this passage in mind let me remind us to pray that God would remove the strongholds, the opposition, any thing that keeps those closest to us from understanding the gospel and receiving it.

Just like this picture from Kiev. Once these gates to the Soviet backed government were closed to the common person. They stood in opposition to the people as well as the Gospel. Now they are open for all to walk thru.

night launch

2008-03-17T20:49:00.004-05:00

Thought you might enjoy seeing these pictures, taken during the night launch for the space shuttle. They were sent to me by our good friend Eric Ball.

2008-03-11T15:32:00.002-05:00

This letter was sent to me from one of our sisters in the fellowship. Thought it was a good follow up on the message Sunday.

Mike,
I had already been thinking along this vein last week. It's
interesting that your sermon yesterday was about religion.
This thought had been going through my mind:

If, hundreds of years from now, someone read an account of the 21^st
century Church (in America specifically), like that in Acts about the
1^st century Church, what would the account say?
Would we, like the people in Acts, be in harmony with one another?

Would they say of us that we shared all things in common and gave up
possessions, time and energy to care for one another?
Would we be praised for being devoted to teaching and true doctrine?
Would it be known that we met DAILY together for prayer and fellowship?
Would the evidence of our faith be miracles, healing and many souls
added to the Church daily?
Would they proclaim that we turned the world up-side-down?
OR,
Would we sound a bit more like those described in 2 Timothy 3?
Would we be proclaimed as selfish, greedy, disobedient, divisive,
wormy and lovers of money and selves?
Or, worse yet, would be described like the churches of Revelation 2 & 3?
Would we be known for leaving our first love, the Lord Jesus Christ?
Would they say we held to superstitions, idolatry and paganism?
Would it be true of us that we tolerated sin and sexual immorality in
our midst?
Would we look alive, but in truth be dead and worthless? Would our
work be known as /incomplete/?
Would we be known as the church God vomited out of his mouth because
we were neither hot nor cold, but Luke-warm?

What will be written about us? What will we be remembered for?
How do we want to be remembered?
Do we want those yet to come to say we were religious or that we were
*righteous*?
I've wanted to share this poem with you for awhile now. I wrote it
about 2 years ago.

So, here it is, finally.

In Our Image

Conjured up from our own devices,
We sat him in the second pew
Of First or United something church
In the anyplace town we chose.
Told him to behave,
Just sit and wait for our visit
On Sundays -
Maybe Wednesday nights-
Surely at Christmas and Easter
Because Mother would insist.
Temper-tantrum prayers we end,
"Don't call us; we'll call you."
Every intention demanding our
Demands should be met - and pronto!

Name it; claim it!
Blab it; grab it!
Childish, the mantra conjures him
More or less to our will.
This convenient religion so
Easily stomached when served
With chicken soup recipes
From the Book
Turned most appealing by
Our lack of conviction,
Becomes a tickling of the ears,
Willingly compromised,
Socially acceptable,
Politically correct.
Pretended that idol,
Our imagined god, could
Hear us, see us, touch us.
Conjured up from our own devices,
A something - a tool,
Creation of our selfishness,
We imprisoned him in
Pretty stained-glass packages.
Yet, we question (stupid us!),
"Why is the world still going straight to hell?"
All the while insisting
- Our only true conviction -
In the worship of a god,
Created in our own warped image.
March 2006

What is religion? Religion is of the flesh.
It is man's foolish attempt to make himself good enough for God, or
worse, an equal with God.

Are we religious? Well, the Buddhist is religious. The Hindu is
religious. Muslims are among the most devoutly religious group in the
world.

Pagans and animists are religious. Wiccans and scientologists are
religious! Mormonism has exploded into a world-wide "religious"
movement, stemming from a despised cult 100 years ago.

All practices of something or someone supernatural is qualified as
"religion."

So, do you want religion? Do you want the works of the flesh?

Personally, I feel that religion does not come from God. It is of
man's flesh; it is from the pit of the enemy.

Religion, in and of itself, denotes ritual, standards and rules
instituted by men, not by God. (Check out the Pharisees and Sadducee's
of Jesus' day.)

It is man's way of making himself feel better, of making himself good
enough, of making himself less guilty of his known state, the state of
sin.

Man inherently knows, deep in his gut that he is sinful and separated
from God.

Religion, whether it is the religion of Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam,
Scientology, or Christianity, or whatever, is merely man's way of
trying to ease his own conscience.

He wants to feel better about what he is, so he institutes a set of
beliefs, rituals, etc. and becomes very religious.

In this way, he looks good to other men, and in turn, must look good
to God. How untrue! How deceptive! How fleshly!!!

Religion creates rules, but God clothes us with righteousness.
Religion forces the will of men on others, Christ came to set us free.
Religion causes division, but Christ came to break down the dividing
wall of hostility.
Religion puffs up the flesh, but Holy God leads us to repentance.
So, do we want religion? Do we want people who come after us to say
that we were very religious?
Do we want to be a people who have a form of godliness, but deny its
true power? (2 Tim 3:5)
As for me, I choose righteousness over religion!
I want religion to die in myself and in my local fellowship.
Amen. Let Jesus and His justice and righteousness and holiness reign!
Okay, I'm done preaching now.

Shalom, dear brother,

creation

2008-03-10T08:23:00.001-05:00

"The Creation" (from God's Trombones, 1927)
And God stepped out on space,
And he looked around and said:
I'm lonely -
I'll make me a world.

And far as the eye of God could see 5
Darkness covered everything,
Blacker than a hundred midnights
Down in a cypress swamp.

Then God smiled,
And the light broke, 10
And the darkness rolled up on one side,
And the light stood shining on the other,
And God said: That's good!

Then God reached out and took the light in his hands,
And God rolled the light around in his hands 15
Until he made the sun;
And he set that sun a-blazing in the heavens.
And the light that was left from making the sun
God gathered it up in a shining ball
And flung it against the darkness, 20
Spangling the night with the moon and stars.
Then down between
The darkness and the light
He hurled the world;
And God said: That's good! 25

Then God himself stepped down -
And the sun was on his right hand,
And the moon was on his left;
The stars were clustered about his head,
And the earth was under his feet. 30
And God walked, and where he trod
His footsteps hollowed the valleys out
And bulged the mountains up.

Then he stopped and looked and saw
That the earth was hot and barren. 35
So God stepped over to the edge of the world
And he spat out the seven seas -
He batted his eyes, and the lightnings flashed -
He clapped his hands, and the thunders rolled -
And the waters above the earth came down, 40
The cooling waters came down.

Top Then the green grass sprouted,
And the little red flowers blossomed,
The pine tree pointed his finger to the sky,
And the oak spread out his arms, 45
The lakes cuddled down in the hollows of the ground,
And the rivers ran down to the sea;
And God smiled again,
And the rainbow appeared,
And curled itself around his shoulder. 50

Then God raised his arm and he waved his hand
Over the sea and over the land,
And he said: Bring forth! Bring forth!
And quicker than God could drop his hand,
Fishes and fowls 55
And beasts and birds
Swam the rivers and the seas,
Roamed the forests and the woods,
And split the air with their wings.
And God said: That's good! 60

Then God walked around,
And God looked around
On all that he had made.
He looked at his sun,
And he looked at his moon, 65
And he looked at his little stars;
He looked on his world
With all its living things,
And God said: I'm lonely still.

Then God sat down - 70
On the side of a hill where he could think;
By a deep, wide river he sat down;
With his head in his hands,
God thought and thought,
Till he thought: I'll make me a man! 75

Up from the bed of the river
God scooped the clay;
And by the bank of the river
He kneeled him down;
And there the great God Almighty 80
Who lit the sun and fixed it in the sky,
Who flung the stars to the most far corner of the night,
Who rounded the earth in the middle of his hand;
This Great God,
Like a mammy bending over her baby, 85
Kneeled down in the dust
Toiling over a lump of clay
Till he shaped it in his own image;

Then into it he blew the breath of life,
And man became a living soul. 90
Amen. Amen.

From

2008-03-03T07:50:00.005-05:00

Hebrews 13:20-21
20 Now may the God of peace—
who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus,
the great Shepherd of the sheep,
and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood—
21 may he equip you with all you need
for doing his will.
May he produce in you,[a]
through the power of Jesus Christ,
every good thing that is pleasing to him.
All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.

This is my prayer for the body at Lifepoint this week.
That you would be equipped with everything you need to be victorious in accomplishing all that He has for you to do and be that you might feel in your inner most being that deep deep sense of His good pleasure.

2008-02-25T11:19:00.004-05:00

I hope all is well on this foggy Monday morning. What a great weekend in the Lord. Our Friday night prayer time was awesome, and it seemed to carry over into Sunday morning. I believe God wants to impact this community with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But in order to do that the body has to be prepared. I want to give a special shout out to Jason Smith. His ministry through the word yesterday was right on. I am always blessed by what God has to say through him. Hope you have a great week.
God Bless
Mike Di Maria

2008-02-22T14:54:00.003-05:00

Just a reminder:

Who We Are
"A caring family of believers in Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit committed to expressing God's love to our community and beyond with the life-giving message of Jesus Christ."

We are expressing God's love by:

Establishing a loving family atmosphere

Equipping the family members

Employing the family's gifts

Enlarging the family of God

2008-02-11T16:43:00.008-05:00

The Mississippi River at Venice La by Mike D

"There is not a duty we perform for God that sin does not oppose. And the more spirituality or holiness there is in what we do, the greater the enmity to it. Sin never wavers, yields or gives up... no area of one's life indeed is secured without a struggle." Puritan John Owen.

Romans 7:18
"and I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t."
19 I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.

Sound familiar? The aches and pains of sin in our lives Seems to wreck havoc on us and we simply don't no what to do.

Romans 7:24-25
Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?
25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.

Romans 8:1-2
So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power[a] of the life-giving Spirit has freed you[b] from the power of sin that leads to death.
The Apostle Paul

Getten Married

2008-01-28T11:49:00.000-05:00

In Case you haven't heard It is official Karen and John are to be married in August.

Going home

2008-01-17T23:04:00.000-05:00

January 13th at 7:30 Dad went home he is greatly missed.

2008-01-15T07:17:00.001-05:00

Psalm 49
For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah.
1 Listen to this, all you people!
Pay attention, everyone in the world!
2 High and low,
rich and poor—listen!
3 For my words are wise,
and my thoughts are filled with insight.
4 I listen carefully to many proverbs
and solve riddles with inspiration from a harp.
5 Why should I fear when trouble comes,
when enemies surround me?
6 They trust in their wealth
and boast of great riches.
7 Yet they cannot redeem themselves from death[a]
by paying a ransom to God.
8 Redemption does not come so easily,
for no one can ever pay enough
9 to live forever
and never see the grave.

10 Those who are wise must finally die,
just like the foolish and senseless,
leaving all their wealth behind.
11 The grave is their eternal home,
where they will stay forever.
They may name their estates after themselves,
12 but their fame will not last.
They will die, just like animals.
13 This is the fate of fools,
though they are remembered as being wise.[b]
Interlude

14 Like sheep, they are led to the grave,[c]
where death will be their shepherd.
In the morning the godly will rule over them.
Their bodies will rot in the grave,
far from their grand estates.
15 But as for me, God will redeem my life.
He will snatch me from the power of the grave.
Interlude

16 So don’t be dismayed when the wicked grow rich
and their homes become ever more splendid.
17 For when they die, they take nothing with them.
Their wealth will not follow them into the grave.
18 In this life they consider themselves fortunate
and are applauded for their success.
19 But they will die like all before them
and never again see the light of day.
20 People who boast of their wealth don’t understand;
they will die, just like animals.
I thank God that my father who recently passed knew God's Redemption

Christmas puppies

2007-12-28T11:44:00.000-05:00

Frufru and Confetie are the latest additons to the DiMaria barnyard. The little girl was already ours.

2007-12-26T08:58:00.000-05:00

Christmas Blurrrrr.

It is easy to feel that way about the most wonderful time of the year. It comes and goes so fast and every thing seems like a blurr. This Christmas I have taken the time to stop and reflect on the goodness of God. We are rich in Christ and when I focus on that I appreciate all I have so much more. When I don't focus on
Christ I find my mind slips into that comparison mentality I look around and see all the stuff that everyone keeps adding to there already huge piles, and I want to compare and say my piles not big enough. I need more stuff on my pile. Most of the stuff I have is not essential to my life It's just stuff and we like stuff (I like stuff). Especially the newest and the latest stuff, First stuff the stuff that nobody else has.
Now I don't think stuff is bad but what is bad is the mind set that I deserve more stuff, or that God owes me stuff. Or that if only I had this or that my life would be complete. I am complete in Christ and I like Paul want to find my peace and contentment in Him. Whether in rich or poor I can be content with who I am and what I own and don't own. My relationship to God the Father through Jesus Christ my Lord is the only true calming effect on my life and the only one that can take the blurr out of Christmas, and replace it with clear vision and thinking and I like that.

2007-12-21T12:29:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's almost Christmas my how the time flies by.
In January of 07 I stood in front of the congregation and summarized that the new year would be a year of building but not the same kind of building we had known in 06. In 06 we had poured all our efforts into the physical building at Lifepoint. It seemed to me that in 07 God wanted to give us a break from all the physical work that went on and work on the spiritual body at Lifepoint.
As I reflect back over the past year I can say that that is exactly what God has done. I am very excited about the growth I have seen in the body at Lifepoint. Gods Love for one another the Joy of the Lord and the celebration of our God has been such a blessing to me. The growth in individuals lives and the hunger for more of the Lord has stood out. What more could a pastor of a young growing Church ask for? Praise God for all he has done.

2007-11-22T00:33:00.000-05:00

I bless God for allowing me the opportunity to meet this unique man of God. I know for some Pastor Boris and his methods of ministry seemed different from what we are normally used to, but I can assure you that the more time we spent together the more I realized and appreciated his deep love for our Lord and savior Jesus Christ..

2007-10-22T08:04:00.000-05:00

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit."
Matthew 28:19
This past Sunday we held our first Baptismal service at Lifepoint Church. It was a very exciting morning. Not pictured is Drew a high school student at DSHS, came to know Christ back during the summer while attending a Bible study with some of our guys. Drews Grandmother came all the way from Jonesboro La. to witness the service.

2007-10-17T17:17:00.000-05:00

Last week Ellen, Claire, and Sarah Katherine, went to Monroe La to greet the newest member of the Lifepoint family. Kirk and Kristy Severio, primarily Kristy gave birth to a beautiful little girl. Her name is Annie Lynne. She is the little one in the pic's below being held by her Grandmother Margret Severio.
"May God Bless her and keep her and make his face to shine on her."

2007-10-15T07:55:00.000-05:00

Zephaniah 3:17

The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty;
(NASB) "is a mighty warrior" He will rejoice over you with joy; He will rest(in silent satisfaction) and in His love He will be silent and make no mention (of past sin's, or even recall them); He will exult over you with singing. Amplified

As I think back on yesterdays celebration service it seems to me that this verse was the theme for the day. The service was a celebration Of Mr and Mrs Floy and Tom Laws 50th wedding anniversary. But it was more than that it was a celebration of God's goodness faithfulness and Love for his people. What a great day it was, A day of praise and worship of singing and dancing of food and fellowship. Every thing it takes to make a good party. Way to go LIFEPOINT. Way to go GOD.

(The picture is of me in the Ukraine not at Lifepoint)

2007-10-06T11:34:00.000-06:00

God never asks us to do anything we can do. He asks us to live a life which we can never live and to do a work that we can never do. Yet, by his grace we are living it and doing it.
The life we live is the life of Christ lived in the power of God, and the work we do is the work of Christ carried on through us by his Spirit whom we obey.
Watchman Nee.

2007-10-01T05:03:00.000-06:00

Our Brother Anton and his dear family will be traveling starting Tuesday evening our time, please pray for them. Pray for those who are trying to discern Gods will for there time here. Pray to God that he would raise up the necassary money needed to take care of there financial needs while they are here. Psalm 121

I will lift my eyes to the mountains; from where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day, Nor the moon by night. The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul.The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in From this time forth and forever.

2007-09-28T21:42:00.000-06:00

"For everything comes from him; everything exists by his power and is intended for his glory. To him be glory evermore. Amen."
Romans 11:36

Ellen and I have always loved being apart of the Denham Springs community, especially on Friday nights. As a youth pastor I made it my business to be at as many athletic events as possible. Now that Michael plays football for the Yellow Jackets it's an even greater treat to go to the games and to help with the events. Often I get to stand on the sidelines and hold the down markers. Tonight was one of those nights. I'm proud of my son, not because he's an outstanding football player (and he is) but because he has a heart for the Lord, and he truly desires to walk with God. He's not perfect but who is? I tell him all the time play ball as hard as you can, play to please Father. Not me but ABA Father.
Like Paul says in the verse above everything comes from God and it's all for his Honor and His Glory, even football
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Check out my two B.F.F.'s Rachael and Tiffany

2007-09-28T06:47:00.000-06:00

Thursday was adventures with Dad day for me and the girls.We took the boat and headed to the Atchafalaya basin. If your ever that way stop in at the Atchafalaya welcome center located about halfway between Baton Rouge and Lafayette. They give you a history and the significance of the Basin. Next we took the boat and did some exploring up and down the Atchafalaya river and its many tributaries. It was truly the day that the Lord had made and we rejoiced and were glad.

2007-09-21T07:06:00.000-06:00

Does life justify Life?

Pascal writes that man endures "the miseries of a dethroned monarch". He asks, "What can this incessant craving, and this impotence of attainment mean, unless there was once a happiness belonging to man, of which only the faintest traces remain, in that void which he attempts to fill with everything with in his reach".

Was there something more to life than what we know?
Bruce Milne states that "tragically humanity failed to fulfill its calling as God's vice regents. Instead we have tumbled down to the dust from which we were taken and groveled on the earth instead of reaching to the skies."

Do we have something more to look forward to, than a slow ride in a long black hearse.
Hebrews 11:16 reminds us that the ancients sought more than what is seen only in this life.
Speaking of Abraham
"But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a heavenly city for them."
Jesus said in John 14 "There are many rooms in my Father's home, and I am going to prepare a place for you.
Colossians 3:1 "Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God"
The answer to the question at the top of the page, for a very small number of people may be yes, I am content with life as it is what ever my lot. But for the vast majority of us we long for something more and yet just about the time we think we've got it, it vanishes like a breath on a cold day. With out the hope of an eternal future, why be born at all? This life has to much pain and suffering to be all that there is. Most would agree with that statement, but to few of us live with heaven as our focus. Our sights are set only on this life. I close with this thought from A.W. Tozer
The church is constantly being tempted to accept this world as her home... but if she is wise she will consider that she stands in the valley between the mountain peaks of eternity past and eternity to come. The past is gone forever and the present is passing as swift as the shadow on the sundial of Ahaz. Even if the earth should continue a million years not one of us could stay to enjoy it. We do well to think of the long tomorrow.
Because life does not justify living.
Eternity does.

2007-09-14T14:25:00.000-06:00

One of the highlights of my trip to the Ukraine was the opportunity to meet Rabi Boris.(Standing in the picture next to me.) He is the Pastor/Rabi for the largest messianic congregation in the world. He led the retreat and I got to spend a little time with him. I have never met a man like him,and can honestly say he is one of the most anointed men I have ever met. He will be at Lifepoint on Nov 8Th-13Th What an honor it is to have him with us, I cant wait for you to meet him.

2007-09-14T04:44:00.000-06:00

Rev 5:9-10
"You were Slain and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
"You have made them to be a kingdom and priest to our God; and they will reign upon the earth"
While I was in the Ukraine Father spoke three things to my heart. The first two things had to do with this verse.
He reminded me through this verse how special we are, so special that He purchased us with His blood that He might present us as a gift to the Father. Christ values us so much that he would say I want to give my Father the greatest gift I can think of and He did you and I not as a broken down stained used gifts but because of His shed blood we are whole, restored, renewed, creation. What a wonderful thought "I am Christ's gift to His Father".
The second thing was the fact that He is bringing men and women from every tribe and tongue and people and nation to His Father as a gift. I was blessed greatly to meet just a few of them while I was at the conf. Here are some pictures of just a couple of the many wonderful people I met while I was there. The third thing that the Holy Spirit convicted me of and I will go into it later in more detail but it had to do with my complacent attitude toward the Jewish people. Think about how the Fathers heart must be grieved by the fact that for two thousand years His very own people have rejected Him and his gift to the world in His son Jesus. The Father convicted me that it is not just there problem but it's one that I must begin to share in by at least praying for the nation of Israel.
That's it for now check back later for more posts.
People in the pictures starting at the top.(Rasty from Slovockia Leon from South Africa, a pastor and his wife from Muldova and Molly and her special friend from Kiev)

2007-09-13T07:56:00.000-06:00

I had expectations of bloging every day while I was in the Ukraine. As you can see It never happened and now I don't even know were to begin. Let me try to start from the beginning with why I went to the Ukraine to begin with.
I went to the Ukraine for two basic reasons. The first was to visit Anton and to be able to understand more about who he is and where he comes from. After all he will be ministering at Lifepoint in Oct. The second reason I wanted to go was that I knew there would be a 5 day retreat for prayer and fasting and I felt this could be a very beneficial thing for me spiritually. The Ukraine is a long way away so you really don't want to jump on an airplane and fly half way around the world with out having some idea of why your doing what your doing. And thirdly I believe the Lord said go. And boy was He right. I will continue later with this post.The pictures starting at the top are down town Kiev which was a beautiful city. The other two pics are of Molly Sandy and the Antonovich's and the last pic is of me and Masha in the market in her home town which I dont know haw to spell. God Bless.

2007-08-29T18:13:00.000-06:00

Claire and Sarah Katherine
before I left for the Ukraine.

2007-08-20T07:19:00.000-06:00

What a Great weekend at Lifepoint. I want to thank every one for all the help with the Splash Bash. We registered 87 visitors and some 70+ lifepoint members took part in the fun and festivities. But the coolest thing about the whole weekend came from a young woman who visited on Saturday and then came back on Sunday. After the message on the return of the prodigal son she came forward and told Ellen "I just couldn't wait to come forward I just knew I had to rededicate my life to the Lord."

With that I am reminded of Luke 15:7 "In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!"
Thanks again for being the Body of Christ to a lost world I know God was pleased with all the efforts.
God Bless
Mike D

Karen's a fighter

2007-07-26T07:57:00.001-06:00

The next J.I.Jane?

Words by Neal Morse

2007-07-25T05:39:00.001-06:00

Many of you have asked me about the songs I have played the last two Sundays. The title of the song I played two weeks ago was called "Cradle to the Grave". These are the words to the song I played this past week.
You can find his music at Neal's web site.

http://www.nealmorse.com

Inside His Presence by Neal Morse

And in this place of gold
The ancients walk this road
There is no death
There is no time

There is a love unknown
There is a scent of home
A rainbow reef
A blazing throne

From a grave of stone
to a world unknown
From the smoke and ash
comes through life at last
Among earth and sod
the very life of God is here

From a list of laws
Seeing all our flaws
To the blind the lame we are all the same.
Our high priest has come
to make us all as one in Him

The temple of his throne
is now not made with stone
Your very heart
is now his own

He will come and live
if you only give
Him a place inside
that the world can’t find
and the holy place is now face to face in Christ

When he died and was born
the temple walls were torn
And the God’s spirit poured out
to all the ones without

Now the temple of the living God is you
the temple of the living God is you

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-07-21T09:07:00.001-06:00

2007-07-18T08:35:00.001-06:00

I want to thank all of you who helped out with the visit from our German friends. It has been a great two weeks of sharing faith and life together.I know God touched many of these students lives. One young lady said that the two things she enjoyed the most about her visit was white water rafting and going to Lifepoint. We talked a lot about what she saw in our services and how much they moved her. I assured her it was the spirit of God and the life of God living in peoples hearts. I know many of these students saw and heard the gospel lived out for the first time. There were many tears shed on our last night together. Whats so wonderful about the day and time we live in is that many of the relationships that were built over the past two weeks will continue even though we are thousands of miles apart. I am so thankful that so many of you helped make there stay possible, and that the Love of Christ was poured out so generously.
God Bless you
Mike Di Maria

2007-07-08T20:01:00.000-06:00

More pic's from our time with our friends from Germany.

2007-07-07T20:23:00.000-06:00

I want to take time to welcome my good friend Voelker from Minden Germany .He is traveling with about 15 high school and college students and will be staying with us for about two weeks. I hope every one at Lifepoint will take the opportunity to get to know our friends from Germany.

2007-07-04T06:25:00.000-06:00

The R's of salvation was the topic I spoke on this past Sunday in our morning worship service. Words like redemption, regeneration, reconciliation, and resurrection, all describe the specifics of salvation.
I also mentioned words like return to, renew, recover, reclaim, and restore. Although these words are not directly tied to the doctrine of salvation, they do remind us that God's intention is to restore, recover, reclaim, and renew all that was lost, broken, and destroyed, as a result of sin. God had every right to abandon mankind and start new with a new Adam and A new Eve, He choose not to. On the contrary He has and is systematically renewing, reclaiming, restoring, and returning us his fallen, broken, and sin full creation to His place of original intent. A place of wonderful, intimate fellowship with Himself.
Randy Alcorn says in his book "Heaven" "God is the ultimate salvage artist He loves to restore things to their original condition, and make them even better. God's purpose in our salvation is reflected in the hymn "Hallelujah What a savior":"ruined sinners to reclaim"
To quote a line out of and old 70's song "Do you know one who buys broken things? Hear him now as he cries and sings, I don't sell I buy broken things" thank God I have been bought by Him and he is in the process of restoring me. In Jesus name Amen.
Hope you have a great July 4Th

Pastor Mike

2007-06-26T20:30:00.001-06:00

This week I have been working as the coordinator for the 2007 "Ethics Institute". We are training about 30 7-8 graders. The program is designed to develop leadership qualities and to stress character building. This year we recruited eight students from last year to help us facilitate the programs and work with the individual teams. This is a picture of Myya my new BFF. I enjoy my time with the students and there are many opportunity's to share my faith with them. This year Jimmy helped me get the program started.

2007-06-26T19:57:00.000-06:00

I talked with Paul today and he asked that the Lifepoint family pray for him as he continues to reestablish his life in Knoxville. I am very thankful for the time we had together while he served us as worship leader. Thanks Paul for all your help.

2007-06-21T06:56:00.000-06:00

What a blessing it was to have Sarah and Jason with us this past Sunday.I bless God for what he is doing in their lives.It brings me great joy to know that we can support them both in prayer and with our fiances.

2007-06-21T06:55:00.001-06:00

2007-06-13T20:57:00.001-06:00

2007-06-11T09:25:00.000-06:00

Sweat Sarah Kathryn

The Antonovich Family

2007-06-11T09:01:00.000-06:00

We thank God for all he did in our lives through this family.

Thanksgiving comes in the spring?

2007-03-29T05:51:00.000-06:00

Sometimes Thanksgiving can come at other times of the year. We are very very thankful that Claire is on the mend from her bout with pnemonia. This was Claire during her stay at Our Lady Of The Lake Hospital. She is now doing much better. The docters said it would take several months for her to regain complete strength. Thank you for all your prayers.