Amazing! So now shows are popping up, websites are created and the fury is on.

What if I told ya, that Jesus was a couponer. Yea the ultimate couponer. How you ask, did they have parchment coupons back in the day of loaves and fish? Hahaha….don’t think so, but I do know this. That in a few days Easter will be celebrated by some, ignored by some, and scorned by others. Yet for those that have placed faith in Christ have been redeemed and celebrate the empty tomb daily.

Most of us have seen coupons and most of the coupons have a picture of the item that is purchased. Imagine for a second that when you placed faith in Christ that He had a coupon. And the coupon with little tiny words written on the bottom, with the dotted lines along the edge to guide the scissors, and the expiration date on the bottom and the coupon has your picture on it. The day you place faith in Christ, He rifles through his coupon book of folks HE desires to place faith and pulls the coupon out that has your picture on it and as HE hands it over to God to scan, you notice the expiration date is no longer on the bottom of the coupon…..YOU ARE REDEEMED   you are FOREVER forgiven

He, Jesus through His death, burial and resurrection bought you for Himself, He paid the price to recover us from the power of another, if we were on layaway He bought us off, paid the balance and WE RECEIVE the PROMISES…AMAZINGLY AWESOME!

So where is your coupon?

 Happy Thursday to you! What an amazing day that we GET to participate in.

 We are now 45 days out from Easter. 45 days away from the day Jesus came BLASTING out of that tomb to conquer death forever and bridge the gap between mankind and God. That through faith/belief we are sealed (Ephesians 1:13-14)through the Holy Spirit. 45 days away, yet we GET to CELEBRATE today…..

 just wondering if anyone would like to join in a way to enhance our walk with Christ and each other. This verse continues to pop up on my noggin…it’s the verses in Matthew 6 where Jesus is teaching on fasting (no that’s not running). But first let me give you a little background…. It’s no secret that bivo loves sweets, I mean chocolate chip cookies are considered vitamins along with the 8 essential vitamins of moose tracks and banana pudding…..but my ol mind gets too wrapped up in these sweets and I mentally hide with the thoughts “of is this really too much” or “is anyone around to see me stick my hand in this bag”…my consuming them begins to consume me…..

 so it’s time for a break, its time to live out romans 12:2 and transfrom our/my thinking (mind). What is the purpose of fasting some might ask. Simply to draw closer to God. Jesus teaches us in Matthew 6 on fasting..and out of the gate HE states when (not if, but when) wow ok so I’m in Lord…but was does fast mean, so I looked it up and the greek word is nesteuo….hahaha. are you serious? does anyone else see that that word looks like nestle crunch bar? hahaha….really…..ok but the definition, the action taken, the enhancing is done through abstaining, not taking in food or drink or a choice nourishment, can be for a single day, or for a period of time.

Oh, Jesus goes on to say also that in our fasting, that we are not to draw attention to it…So this will be my last post on this, as my request is this, you wanna join? you wanna join each other and enhance our relationships through Christ by setting aside not GRACE but things that entangle or snare our minds, things that trip us up, things or stuff that is just not beneficial when participated with out of balance. I mean Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10 that all things are permissable, it’s just not all beneficial (bivo translation)…so you wanna join me and setting aside some things that are not beneficial?  And let’s take it a step further if you desire. the whatevers that we are laying down for a period of time (you and God determine that)if the “things or stuff” that we set aside has dollars attached, let’s send those dollars over to the folks that are chasing a million bucks to serve and make Jesus famous in our community…

 you wanna? let’s enhance our walk for the next 45 days….as our minds struggle and they will….go to www.whatistherefuge.com and share your need for prayer with others, share your praise. Or share with the groups that are meeting in your homes, so we can pray over and with each other and over the next 45 days we will journey with Jesus and the boys as they march to EMPTY out a TOMB!

 you wanna?

 We had a beautiful time Saturday as we traveled through Galatians 2. We ended our discussion or thoughts on verse 21 where we see where Paul tells us that “he doesn’t treat grace meaningless” other translations state “that he doesn’t nullify grace”……and if you recall we found out that what paul is saying is that he is not setting aside grace, he is not frustrating grace. WOW! How do we treat grace? And we bounced this off our earlier huddle times, when we shared with each other, how or what we use to determine these levels of Christianity we have built in our minds. You remember yea, we were discussing what are the “things” we do that make us feel like we are “right with God” or the “stuff we inadvertently add, or frustrate grace with”.  One group realized that man, their benchmark for a good Christian was what they were doing, they broke out in laughter with the words “what in the world are we doing”…….

 We then let our foot off our necks by realizing the stuff, the things that we are doing are to ENHANCE our relationship with Christ, not frustrate. The whatever’s you are about that help create a deeper connection with Christ are enhancing your relationship with HIM.

 Today is Madri Gras, Fat Tuesday and the very next day Ash Wednesday, what a contrast….Ash Wednesday let’s us know that in 46 days, we celebrate EASTER (the empty tomb). Unbelievable how fast our days zip….yet for some Ash Wednesday is meant to enhance their thoughts of Christ by burning the palms from the previous years palm Sunday celebration and then placing the ashes in the form of a cross on their foreheads. This also marks the lent season (no not the stuff in your belly button) Lent is when one is purposed in fasting, when one is intentional is sacrificing from something that can help enhance their conversations with Christ. An example can be giving up particular food items, or electronic devices, spending. And the time spent with the aforementioned items we spend in prayer with God or reading His Word.

 So what about us? How we can help each other enhance our relationship with Christ and with each other? Well here is one idea…..lets CELEBRATE today that the tomb is EMPTY, and then tomorrow, and then the next, then next…EASTER is everyday my friends.,..let’s show the world that we know and understand that our service for HIM helps us enhance our time and relationship with HIM and each other! Let’s keep

 lovin em up!

 Gang we are learning, we are growing, people lives are transforming, hearts are renewing, relationships are forming, friendships are growing deeper, hearts are changing, eyes are opening, mouths are moving, but more than anything we are doing some lovin! Yes sir Jesus is being made famous through how you are living HIM OUT LOUD in your homes, at work and in the community through your love for each other (John 13:35).

 Our community is seeing a people that desires to reach folks for Christ and to make disciples by living life intentionally with each other across the generations. People are seeing through your love of Christ that there is truly a safe place (the Refuge) to come and get a drink of grace (ReCharge) and mercy by taking a deep breath out from behind their mask, as they watch you without yours. Folks are starting to ask why? and our response is why not? Why not gather and remind ourselves and everyone in our midst that faith in Christ is tremendously GREAT NEWS! Why not gather in his name and His name only and not concern ourselves with the responsibility of paying people or funding a capital campaign for buildings. Why not spread the resources out to and through folks in our homes, at work and in our communities. Why not share our plenty with our brothers and sisters in transition from jail to their new normal. Why not share our overflow with our brothers and sisters that are temporarily laying their head down in a tent. Heck why not share with everyone as they have need (Acts 2).

 Our response for a year has been we will! and folks are hearing of your faith as we grow in our faith

 Dear brothers and sisters, we can’t help but thank God for you, because your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing. (2 Thessalonians 1:3)

 I too can’t help but THANK GOD for each of you, let’s continue to rock the world in showing how we can

 love em up!

 Happy Birthday gang…love yall

Monday is coming……what does your “things left unfinished” folder in your noggin look like?

Oh yea thats a great question…..someone asked “what are things left unfinished?”

its ANYTHING that we “think or feel” is not covered, redeemed, reconciled, delivered, washed under Christ’s 3 words IT IS FINISHED. this starts and includes who HE establishes and says we are in HIS sight, which is covered, redeemed, reconciled, delivered, washed and LOVED.

do we have any of those “things”in our mental folder? yea me too…im finding that when i share with others, there are a bunch of me toos out there and im finding even more on a daily basis that when we join together in our homes, and at work to pray with and over each other that mondays are coming and going without “im gonna stop………” (fill in the blank) attached. So what does your  monday Jan 2 have in store?

IT really IS FINISHED!

 Luke 2:7 She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

Some translations have no room in the inn…the greek word also denotes quest room….but how could that be? Remember they were going back “home” they were traveling back to be counted in the census and Joseph was part of the family tree that had King David, the line, Jesus would come from….surely they would have family they could go to, or did they? I mean the silence was probably deafening. Wonder if they did knock on family doors…remember Mary and Joseph left town, they were nestled down in Nazareth, some may have not seen them until now…and wow,

 KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK

  ”why Mary, Joseph how have you been! it is great to see …. you have uh grown, your pregn….but your time of seperation is not uh….this was not supposed to be…..OH NO!” door slammed

 Could that have happened? I know the town of Bethlehem would have had unusually high numbers of people coming back to be counted, and yes the local places for lodging would have been tight, but no room, really?  come on! This was David’s town man!….no hey Joseph shhh come on in….

did they just “sneak” in a room or did someone finally through whispers “psssst, pssst, psssst…hey Joseph over here….shhhhh…you guys bed down here…..sshhhhh…come on no one will find you here….you need anything? Mary you ok? man you guys look beat”

Maybe the room they were speaking of wasn’t physical room, but room in the heart. Oh im sure by now talk was all over that Mary and Joseph “thought” they were giving birth to the messiah, heck even if Elizabeth and Zechariah could have showed up to “vouch” for em…but we know most would have given that high eyebrow, eyes wide open of “yall are a bit whacko, I’ll catch you later” look.

Which one would we be? I’m finding the more HE penetrates my heart, the more room for others is made…I’m thankful for a people that is making room in their heart for me and my family

 Saturday (5:00 pm Siegel High) we will CELEBRATE together through a candlelit service that will fill the room with song, prayer, and communion

 Ladies remember that you are going to live out life as if you are carrying our Savior. Place yourselves in Mary’s sandals..if you are 12 years of age and up live this out with each other. For those households that have multiple females, imagine that all of you are pregnant together (whew good thing they didn’t have moose tracks cravings in first century) or swap out who is with child and live out how Mary’s support system would care for her. Who did mary and Joseph tell?…speaking of Joseph

 Men, let’s pretend that we are preparing ourselves for the arrival of THE CHRIST CHILD…my heart starts pounding as I type can you imagine men, after having the conversation, you know Gabriel shows up and basically says look bro, uh carry through with the marriage, this is legit Holy Spirit time. Joseph believes and man o man the thoughts that must have roared through his body for the next 9 months…

 Our pit stop this Saturday in our  journey will have us peek in to see what’s happening with Zechariah and Elizabeth and then connect the families to Mary and Joseph. Have a blast gang!

You’re welcome..song worm for the day is placed in hahaha….The other day as i was running off some of the 426 pieces of fudge, pecan pie, chocolate pie I ran across a couple of bridges and this thought came over me, that I will share with you.

The visual that came over me was one of a draw bridge. You know the one’s that you see in the movies, where you see this HUGE castle and the castle is seperated by a mote (a big ol ditch) that typically is filled with water and no telling what kind of monsters in the water that would eat you up if you fell in. Yea the bridge that would lower at the precise moment the good guy is coming home to rescue the princess, the same bridge that knocks the bad guy into the water to be consumed by the Loch ness type creature and the final scene shows the prince and princess crossing the bridge back into the castle to live happily ever after….

Wonder if the world sees our places of worship like the castle with its drawbridge drawn up?  Wonder if the 75% of the population in our counties, cities, states, nation look at our places of worship wondering (wandering) how to get in…why don’t they want to come in we ask? and then WHAM it hit….WE (the church) are the bridge…YES we know that Jesus is the bridge to God (John 14:6 NLT) but you and I are the bridge to Jesus….LOWER the bridge folks…ALL of you inside come on out….Jesus desires for us to GO (Matthew 28:19 NLT)

How is God wooing us to be a bridge to our neighbors that are not meeting. Are the drawbridges in our homes down? How about work? Are folks able to cross your bridge to and from your castle? Recall the person that bridged the gap with you to Jesus, Praise God for that person…Praise God that individual cut the ropes to their bridge and walked you to the Savior in the MIGHT?Y CASTLE….ever wonder (wander) if your name is being praised? Wonder (wander) no more my friend, today is your day.

If you have read this and desire to walk across the bridge to Jesus, just not sure how, we will help. Give us a shout by replying to mbivins@loveemupministries.com.

“How do you know?” “you didn’t ask her”? I pull into the driveway, she’s home…..heart is pounding through my chest cavity, the beat of my heart is so deep it sounds like one those cars that pulls up beside you at a red light with the 48″ wheels that are spinning around in the opposite direction of the actual wheel and your windowsshake from the thump. My heart makes that sound like michael jackson when he was 8. I go inside, i hear “hello” from the room where we fold clothes….i say nothing and walk into the room, she responds “hey babe how was your time with the guys”? I choke out “it was great, it was really good” my mind races, good grief  I feel like I’m asking her out to the prom, why am I so freaking nervous?

“Deb will you pray with me”? there I said it….oh my gosh what if she says yes, too late…YES, ABSOLUTELY! and we did.

Men it’s time, my encouragement, challenge, motivation whatever word hits your heart is to stop praying with anyone else until we pray with our brides. Im serious, im convinced that when/if we begin to connect with our brides through the ONE, our oneness in HIM will create a unity that will keep us from wandering off to vices that are paralyzing us. If you are already in the mode of praying with your bride PRAISE GOD, keep on…ask those in your circle if they are and if not ask how you can help them get over the speed bump.

That’s what happened with me that morning sitting around a table with other men several years ago and a brother asked “men are you praying with your brides”? and he pulls out Ephesians and reads chapter 5. Most of you will know the scripture. Oh if you desire a bit more incentive check out 1 Corinthians 7 and look what comes in the relationship when we leave prayer out of our oneness. Men lead in love and the most loving way to serve Christ is for us to pray with our brides and have them pray over us. Just as teams come together and place their hands in on top of each other, my hand is in….who is with me? (sounds of mens hands stacking on top of one another is a GREAT sound)love yall and can’t wait to see the transformation in your lives.

love em up!