The Word of God is so awesome. I love how God points out things in the Word at different times.

Case in point: Last night Pastor Brad was bringing an awesome message to the church from Matthew Chapter 14. He was telling the story of Peter walking on the water. I got slightly hung up though around verse 29.

Matthew 14 reads:

22-23 As soon as the meal was finished, he insisted that the disciples get in the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he dismissed the people. With the crowd dispersed, he climbed the mountain so he could be by himself and pray. He stayed there alone, late into the night.

24-26 Meanwhile, the boat was far out to sea when the wind came up against them and they were battered by the waves. At about four o’clock in the morning, Jesus came toward them walking on the water. They were scared out of their wits. “A ghost!” they said, crying out in terror.

27 But Jesus was quick to comfort them. “Courage, it’s me. Don’t be afraid.”

28 Peter, suddenly bold, said, “Master, if it’s really you, call me to come to you on the water.”

29-30He said, “Come ahead.”

Jumping out of the boat, Peter walked on the water to Jesus. But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his nerve and started to sink. He cried, “Master, save me!”

31 Jesus didn’t hesitate. He reached down and grabbed his hand. Then he said, “Faint-heart, what got into you?”

32-33 The two of them climbed into the boat, and the wind died down. The disciples in the boat, having watched the whole thing, worshiped Jesus, saying, “This is it! You are God’s Son for sure!”

34-36 On return, they beached the boat at Gennesaret. When the people got wind that he was back, they sent out word through the neighborhood and rounded up all the sick, who asked for permission to touch the edge of his coat. And whoever touched him was healed.

Do you see where I got hung up? Peter walked on the water to Jesus. Literally he was right in front of Jesus when he looked down and allowed fear to enter his heart. Verse 31 says “He reached down and grabbed his hand.” Now I don’t know about you but I have never read in scripture that Jesus had “Go-Go-Gadget Arms” so that tells me that he was face to face with Jesus when he looked down.

There have been times in my life and I am sure yours where we have been so obedient to God and have been so close but yet we allowed fear to creep into our hearts and shake us up a bit.

The waves always get a little rough when we are in the Will of God. Satan will always try to take our eyes off God for a just a second. I want to encourage you all to stand your ground. Don’t look at what’s going on around you … keep your eyes on Jesus. Fear is nothing more than a tactic of the enemy. When God created you and me He never intended for fear to have a place in our hearts. If Peter had stayed focused on God, fear would have never had the opportunity to shake him up. Stand tall this week and keep your eyes on Jesus.

(This may not be a new revelation but it’s a great reminder.)

• How to know when you are “Living Life In The Zone”?
• Finding the zone in your relationship with your wife.
• Finding the zone in your relationship with your children.
• Finding the zone in your relationship with your friends.
• Finding the zone in your relationships at work.
• Finding the zone as you look to the future.

This book first caught my eye because it was specifically written for me. I like books that are aimed at not only making me a better person but also aimed for men specifically. I want to be a true man of God in every area of my life and this book brought forth several points that has pushed and prodded me to be even better.

This book would be a great book for married men and men with children as a good portion of the book deals with those situations. As a single guy, I think that the two sections of the book that talked about relationships with friends and climbing the ladder of success really spoke to me most.

I myself want to be everyone’s friend. This is sometimes an issue. The book explained clearly how this can be issue and who I should truly be close friends to based of scriptures from the Word of God. It really made me think about past friendships/relationships and current friendships/relationships and is prodding me to make some serious changes in that area.

The other section of the book that really spoke to me was “Climbing the ladder of success”. This chapter really mainly focused on keeping us level headed but it also talked about judging ourselves. The book shares the scripture 2 Corinthians 10:12 which tells us very bluntly to not compare ourselves to others. As men, we do this a lot. In reality, I have done it all my life but God is clearly saying “STOP”. We should be living our life not based on where others are in their life but based off where God wants us in ours.

While a majority of this book is written for married men I would still encourage single men to pick it up as a good read. It’s not a hard book to read and it relates a lot of the points to prominent figures in history including Reggie White, Michael Vick, David Green, etc.

Each chapter/day is between 5-10 pages so it doesn’t take much time to read. I encourage you to pick up the book and take 10-15 minutes out of your day each day to read a chapter and see what changes the book makes in your life.

Greg Laurie, the senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California explains that we, even as Christians lie and are tempted to do things that we know are not right (imagine that … Gasp). We make up excuses in our mind make it alright but in reality it’s not and that’s just one of the tricks of the enemy.

This book really opened my eyes up a lot to temptation and how we are tempted. Pastor Greg really explains not only the tactics of the enemy but also how to overcome the enemy by the example of Jesus Christ.

The book is awesome in the fact that it’s a simple read but yet it goes into a lot of detail. Pastor Greg goes through the three noted temptations of Jesus in detail and explains the significance of each temptation. One personal thing I found out is that while the Bible only goes into detail about those three (3) temptations of Jesus, we can assume He was tempted more than that based on Luke 4:13 (msg) which reads “That completed the testing. The Devil retreated temporarily, lying in wait for another opportunity.” This to me says, the devil was defeated but wasn’t giving up. He was just going to stay in the bushes and wait for another opportunity. This blew my mind away.

Bottomline – temptation will always be there waiting … it’s what you do when you are faced with it that matters.

Like I said, this book is a very simple read. Someone who normally doesn’t read can finish this book in an hour or less and be blessed beyond measure. Pastor Greg has a great way of getting the point across and helping you learn and grow from what He has said.

I recommend this book to anyone and everyone. Even Pastors … it’s a small 120 page book that will change the way you see things forever!

Pub. Date: October 2006
Publisher: Gospel Light Publications
Format: Paperback, 128pp
ISBN-13: 9780830742752
ISBN: 0830742751

Order your copy of “Lies We Tell Ourselves” by clicking here!

This past week I have really spent a lot of time thinking about love. Not the romantic love but agape love. Now don’t tune me out. Hear me out. PLEASE!!

We live in culture in which we value ourselves more than anything. We think that we are the most important. Is that the way Christ lived? Aren’t we to be Christ followers (Christ Like)? STAY WITH ME.

In January I was put on meds for my blood pressure. (should have been on them 6 yrs ago but I had to much pride). Anyways, when I was put on blood pressure meds I made the decision to change my life. Change what I eat and how I live. I watch my sodium, cholesterol, and saturated fats now like never before. Literally, everything I eat has been “researched” by me. LOL I made that change after 29 years of eating anything and everything. It was killing me. I had to change and to be honest … it wasn’t hard because it was important to me. It should be just as important to walk in love with those around us every day. It may not be easy to change and to treat everyone with love (including our enemies) but we should do it no matter the cost.

The Word of God says

Mark 12:28-31 (The Message)
One of the religion scholars came up. Hearing the lively exchanges of question and answer and seeing how sharp Jesus was in his answers, he put in his question: “Which is most important of all the commandments?”

Jesus said, “The first in importance is, ‘Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.’ And here is the second: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ There is no other commandment that ranks with these.“

I am not telling you love everyone just because it’s a command from God (although that is huge) … I am wanting you to love everyone because it’s your ID … it’s what defines you as a Christian (Christ-like).

John 13:34-35 (The Message)
“Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.”

I want to encourage you this week to take love to the next level. Go beyond … stretch further. I really believe that Matthew 5:43-48 sums up exactly what I am trying to say so I will end with it.

Matthew 5:43-48 (The Message)
“You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.

“In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”

I hope this post encourages you to take that next step. I believe that if you start showing love to everyone … including your enemies you will see and abundance of blessing come your way.

This morning I had to get up and go look at myself in the mirror for motivation. I had to picture myself as a healthy fit guy. This made me happy because I could see it. It also gave me motivation to walk to the treadmill and run like crazy. Had I not seen myself as a healthy fit guy in the mirror I wouldn’t have had the motivation to give it my all. It would have just been one of those days where I run/walk on the treadmill and go on with my day.

To many times in ministry we lose the vision. We work ministry but we don’t see it and if we do see it … we don’t see it like God see’s it. What we need to understand is that what we keep in front of us (in our vision) affects us. We can be sitting down watching a movie and here comes a Dairy Queen commercial showing a awesome banana split and the next thing I know … I and everyone else that watched the commercial is planning a trip across town to the Dairy Queen.

In ministry we need to always have our vision at the forefront of our lives. As I have told you all many times before, God has given me visions that blow my mind away (Eph 3:20). One particular vision, of which He has shown me over and over again, is where I am standing ministering to kids on a stage and I am looking out over hundreds and thousands of kids. Their hands lifted high in worship, tears running down their faces, and the Holy Spirit moving through the auditorium in waves. This is the vision God has given me and I know that someday I will see that vision come to pass. I look at my life right now and wonder how God is going to do that through me but I believe He will as long as I keep the vision and am obedient to His voice.

We have to start living our lives in faith. We have to start believing that through God NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE. NOTHING!!!

God said in Isaiah 43:19 “I’m about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it?”. God is about to do something brand new in you and me. Do you see it?

Let’s be real for a few minutes here. Let’s stop acting like we have it all together and all is well and please read this with your full heart.

Some of us, including myself, have allowed people and situations to get in the way of the vision that God has for us. We are running a race and some of us (including myself) keep getting tripped up.

Here I am, a man ordained and chosen to reach the world for Christ …. but allowing people and situations to keep me back from reaching my full potential. Yeah, I have seen tens of thousands of kids give their lives Christ over the last 16 years but God has so much more for me. I am honored that I was involved in the process of introducing them to the King but there is so many more to reach.

It’s time for change. Time to stop worrying about what others are going to say, stop worrying about what friends will say or do, stop worrying about your past coming to haunt you.

I remember being 12 and accepting Christ into my life. Developing a prayer life and being baptized. I was so on fire for God at church but at home … it was hard. I wanted to be the angelic child, the “I got saved” kid but I couldn’t. God wanted me to respect my parents …. But I was afraid of being taken advantage of and being called a “goody goody”. So …. Change didn’t happen until I turned 17 when I allowed God to really got a hold of me. Respect for my parents was required.

I think it’s funny that even as adults we still deal with these feelings. Many of us called it the “Approval Addition”. I believe in many areas of my life I broke that a couple years ago … however I still seem stuck in the area of ‘change’. I know what God wants in my life. I know what God wants for my health. It requires major change. It requires me to stop living my life based on what others will think of me completely. It requires me to stop living my life based how many ‘friends’ I will loose. It requires me to stop living my life based off my past being thrown in my face.

I started this process of ‘change’ about two years ago … it’s been very slow though. Now I come to fork in the road. Either I give it all I have or I stay as I am, disappointed.

I don’t care what I have to do to be all that God has called me to be. It’s gotta be done. This past decade for me has been the worst decade of my life. The WORST!! It ends now. This new decade will be the decade of change. Not just in my life but in the lives of those I come in contact with.

We as leaders, need to understand that it wasn’t the eating of the fruit that separated Adam & Eve from God. It was the excuse. God still called out to them and He gave them opportunity. God is still calling out. He is still giving us opportunities to make things right. As Keith Craft recently said “If you elevate your thinking … you will elevate your life”. It’s time to elevate!! It’s time to rise above.

Keith Craft recently shared a story about a horse that everyone thought was done for. There was no hope. They decided they were going to bury the horse alive so they dug a hole and lowered the horse into it. Then the men started throwing dirty into the hole to bury the horse. Every time they threw dirt in the hole the horse would shake it off and step up on it eventually elevating itself out of the hole. The moral … don’t let people or situations bury you alive. Step up!! God is always there and will (if you obey) raise you above the nations (Duet 28:1-14).

So, in closing … watch out!!!

Graphic idea from ‘Brendan Sceroler‘.

This is nothing more than the spirit of Jezebel showing its face in our churches. Those that allow the spirit of Jezebel to have access their life often discredit (or belittle) those around them. Falls right in line with what I believe is the root of all sin “Pride”. They think that they are better than everyone else although they will never say that directly.

The spirit of Jezebel isn’t just a spirit looking to belittle things it is also a very perverse spirit – sexually. I won’t go down that road today but I have been studying about Jezebel lately and it’s sad to see that it is still in the church today.

I think it’s interesting that there are two Jezebels in the Word of God. One in the Old Testament and one in the New Testament. Both had the very same characteristics. I just think that’s interesting … anyways … I know I personally am always evaluating my life and I have seen even some things that I have done that I personally shouldn’t have done both in action and in word that could be tied to the spirit of Jezebel. It’s time the church does some evaluating. It’s time the church starts acting like the church and stops acting like a religious organization. Let’s kick Jezebel to the curb

Ok … I will stop now … just had to get that off my chest!

UPDATE: This post was not aimed at anyone or any church. It was not meant as an attack at any church. It’s about a spirit that is attacking our churches. A spirit that has to be knocked out.

1. Got my Blackberry!!! Yes, I have crossed over to the dark side and have purchased a Blackberry (or as some of you call it a “crackberry”). I always thought my Motorola Q was a smart phone but let me tell you … the Blackberry goes three steps forward. You actually have to BE SMART to use a Blackberry. I still don’t know how to use everything LOL.

2. Weekend Guests - I had the awesome opportunity to have the found of Blue Ark Ministries stay at my place this weekend. It was an awesome time of encouragement. Blue Ark Ministries is a ministry located in Milwaukee that provides blankets, hats, coats, mittens and scarves to homeless children and those less fortunate during the winter months. Last year they blessed so many people in Milwaukee. Looking forward to hearing the numbers of people blessed this year.

3. Weight Loss Plan In Progress - I have officially started my program to lose 95 pounds in six months. Actually, according to a friend who is a personal trainer … I should be able to reach that goal by the end of February. I am really excited. I have high expectations. Watch out ladies … this guy is going to be rockin come valentines day!! LOL BTW … the “Losing It” update on the right will only be updated weekly as I will only be weighing in weekly. Just a FYI.

4. Schooling - I am making steps to get back to school. Thinking about going back to school for family counseling. Many people have said that Liberty University as a great degree program in Family Counseling. Looking into it … Will keep you posted.

5. FULLY MOVED!! As you may or may not know. I moved recently I think I am finally getting settled in and finding everything. I still need to find an interior decorator as I have literally a 25 foot wall that has nothing on it yet. LOL and I haven’t found that “perfect” arrangement in my living room yet but anyways … it’s a great place. It’s nice to have the place to myself. I can come home and sit in perfect silence … oh .. and I can sing at the top of my lungs in the shower!!

Anyways … just wanted to give you an update. I will be posting some “deep” stuff soon.

Over the last 6 years I have really allowed myself to get unhealthy. Often you will hear me blame it on a depression I went through about 6 years ago … although I believe that’s when a lot of my unhealthy decisions were first made … I don’t blame the depression. I blame myself for not having the will power to keep healthy.

Now, I am at a point that I can’t allow this to continue any longer. I have to change some things to get back in shape. When working children’s ministry you have to be able to jump around and get a little crazy and believe it or not … that’s not easy when you are in the 200′s.

With all that in mind I have been doing some research and have found out some really interesting stuff.

For instance, do you know you are suppose to drink a minunum of one gallon of water a day? (for you Ausies that’s 3785.41178 ml) That’s a lot of water. Normally when I drink a lot of water I feel bloated. I found out why …. If your body isn’t getting enough water, it does everything it can to hold on to the water it does have. The problem with this, is the way it holds onto the water. You see, over 70% of your muscle is made up of water. It helps to give your muscles that full, pumped look (along with glycogen).

However, if your body is not taking in enough water, that water is used for other things, leaving you bloated (uggg). And the way to get rid of that excess water, believe it or not, is to take in enough water.

This will rid you of that excess water weigh that bloats you, and begin to help your body run more efficiently and priming it to begin dropping body fat.

Once you begin taking in enough water, your body starts dropping weight, possibly 4 or 5 pounds in the first week. Now, this is mostly water weight. However, doing so does optimizes your bodily functions, allowing it to run more efficiently and start burning stored body fat for energy.

Wanna help burn even more fat …. Instead of just drinking water, begin drinking ice cold water. There is a metabolic cost to eating. In other words, the digestion of food takes calories. So does drinking ice cold water. The body needs to heat up this water in order to be able to use it properly and doing so takes energy, i.e., calories. You can burn another 50 to 100 calories a day by drinking one half gallon to a gallon of ice cold water per day. It doesn’t seem like much. However, in addition to all the other benefits of taking in enough water, by drinking ice cold water, you can drop almost a full pound of fat each month, or 12 pounds per year. That rocks my face off!!

Also, I have never understood why they tell you to eat six meals a day. I do now though. Sometimes I work 11pm to 7am without eating anything … then I come home … eat some cereal or something … go to bed … and then get up and eat a large meal. This is a no no!! Eating one large meal like that throws your body into starvation mode because it thinks you are eating a lot because you aren’t getting any food for a while. This is a bad thing … second of all … going hours upon hours between meals also puts our bodies into starvation mode. STARVATION MODE IS BAD!!! When your body is in starvation mode it stores as much as it can. THIS IS SOMETHING I REALLY HAVE TO WORK ON.

Anyways .. I am going to make some changes here … drinking a bunch more Ice Cold Water and eating six meals a day now vs two.

Over in the right had column I am going to place a weight loss counter. My goal is to lose 95 pounds over the course of the next six months. That’s only 15 pounds a month. I know that’s steep but I believe I can do it and will do it.

Going from being a person who looked “anorexic” to someone that looks like “Porkies Brother” has had it’s experiences. Now it’s time to find a middle ground and enjoy it.

Are you happy with your weight? Does your weight hinder you in ministry? Do you wish you could lose or gain weight?

1. Moving – I am actually moving later today. I am really excited about moving. I love the adventure of moving to a new city. It’s like a treasure hunt. You get to scope out the city and find out what the city really has to offer. The best part of it all is that I am moving far enough away from family to have my distance but yet close enough to visit often. LOVE IT!!
2. New Phone – (and number) – As many of you know my phone number changed a couple weeks ago. It’s because I got new service and got a new phone. However, that phone … wasn’t the best and so it’s going back to the store (on its way now) and I am upgrading to a blackberry. Never thought I would ever get a blackberry but after visiting the Sprint store the other day and checking it out … I wonder why I didn’t switch to a blackberry a long time ago.
3. Personal changes – I am actually reading an awesome book called “Boundaries”. The book is rocking my world almost as much as “The Approval Addiction” did. Its really allowing me to create boundaries in my life and develop right friendship/relationships with people.  It’s a book I recommend every melancholy and phlegmatic person to read.
4. Ministry Update – I recently received sponsorship to start working the ministry God has given me. I am really excited about what God has planned. In February I will be traveling to Las Vegas to attend the Napkin Conference. Really excited about it!! Hoping to meet many of you fellow children’s ministers there.. Including all my mates from Australia!! If you are children’s minister in the state of Wisconsin please post a comment to this entry letting me know so that I can let you know of some awesome things that are going to be launching in January of 2010 here in Wisconsin.
5. Peeps – Just wanted to give a big shout out to my mates in Australia and my peeps in Brazil. You all have been on my site a lot lately. I appreciate you guys a lot. Hoping to see several of you in Feb at the Napkin Conference. Also, want to send a quick shout out to my friend Henry in Africa!! Keep up the awesome work over there man. Been praying hard for you brother.

There is one other large announcement coming soon … but can’t share it with you yet. Don’t you love it when people do that … they tell you they have a secret but then tell you that they aren’t going to share it with you yet? I hate that …. But love doing it to other people. LOL

Anyways … if you aren’t following me on twitter (http://www.twitter.com/nfietzer ) or if you haven’t befriended me on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/kidmin ) I encourage you to do so. Those are the only two places where you can get daily (sometimes hourly) updates from me. (Was there a subliminal message therel?)

Ok … so I am about to end this post …. Ready ……….. THE END!