Life of a Pastor Blog

Having a great time on vacation. Did a couple hikes at Petit Jean State Park.

Why is it so hard to trust?
After all we know it’s a must

To turn our lives to Him is tough for sure
What does it really mean to make Him our Lord?

I like to control my life, my future, my destiny
I like my life to be mine, not His, just me

But surely there arises a problem so great
God knows more than me, He knows my fate

He let’s me control as longs a I choose
But when I do, I always seem to lose

It should be a lesson learned that I surrender all to Him
To give Him all of me, to return from where I have been 

God, O God, This Is Hard For Me To Pray
Take my life, whatever I have, I’ll follow Your Way 

-Danny Cheney-

“Far better to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory, or defeat.”
-Theodore Roosevelt-

Are you willing to risk anything for God?  Are you afraid of taking a step of faith and doing something you have never done before?

Too many people live a life of mediocrity because they are content with staying the same, doing things the same way they have always done.  They live in a land of comfort, unwilling to trouble the waters to dare something different, to do something spectacular for the glory of God.  

There are two roads we can take in life.  The road of ease which is a road that knows no risk or change.  Or we can take the road less traveled.  The road of daring which is a road that knows not what is at the end but finds excitement in discovering, that if we only would take a risk for God, He will bring us to another place.  This road of daring is only traveled by brave soldiers of the Cross who are not afraid of failure and who are willing to face failure to do something significant for the kingdom of God. 

Which road are you traveling on?

@dannycheney1
Some people start out strong when they r filled w/ the Spirit but we must go back 4 recharging. We must stay plugged in to the source of power.
Our lives move from strength to weakness. Therefore we must move from weakness to strength. The Spirit helps us n our weakness. Look to Him.

Its hard to believe that Josh turned 19 today. It seems like it was just yesterday that Josh was born. He has never given us an ounce of trouble and has been a pleasure to raise.

As a parent, you hope that your kids will turn out right. I can proudly say that he has turned into a fine young man of God.

Happy birthday, son! Your mom and I love you and are proud of you.

When I got home from work today, Hannah showed me this list and asked me to use it in my sermon tomorrow.  Honestly, there is a whole sermon series here on this page.  These are words to live by.

This is what she wrote :

We need to trust God.
We need to follow God.
We need to believe n God.
We need to love God.
We need to do what God says.
We need to read the Bible.
We need to learn the Bible.

This is Discipleship 101.  I just may do a sermon series about this soon.

Proverbs 24:16, “The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.”

The godly may fall but they don’t stay down.  The old saying goes, “You can’t keep a good man down.” It is the same with the man or woman of God. When we stumble along the way or we face hard times, we must remember that God’s grace pulls us up.  His hands reaches down to us, all we must do is receive His helping hand.

The ungodly don’t have the same hope as the saint of God. The ungodly’s attention is focused on the situation at hand. The godly have their eyes on the prize, on the finish line and they see the trials and failures as mere hurdles.

Don’t get down because of your temporary circumstances.  Keep your eyes on Jesus. Dust yourself off and journey on.

I’m still in awe of the amazing service we had this morning. As we celebrated the risen King, God was at work.

Today, 205 people worshipped at RFA. More importantly, one person gave their heart to Christ.  We baptized four new believers. Worship was over the top and the atmosphere was charged by the Spirit of God.

God was certainly present. We serve an alive God. If Jesus hadn’t raised from the dead, the service today would have been lifeless. The resurrection secured God’s eternal presence.  Thank you Jesus!

I woke up this morning with these haunting words of God on my heart.  It is God speaking to the prophet Ezekiel.

Ezekiel 22:30 NKJV, “So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.”

America needs a church that will intercede.  God is looking for His people who will get down on their knees and stand in the gap for this great nation.  Who of us can complain about the current problems in the US when we have yet to approach God about those problems?  God isn’t done with our nation. We must stand in the gap.

I love to see toothless smiles. Her tooth fell out at school today. I told her the tooth fairy got laid off in the sequester but Sonya still wants to give Hannah money.

Of all  the treasures in this world, there is one that has far greater worth than all others.  A Godly Woman.  Our world today puts worth on things that have little actual worth.  Its value is based on things that do not last or thnigs that do not matter.  But the thing I treasure most is the woman God gave me.  41 years ago today, God unfolded His mate for me.  He created her to be my help meet.  He gave her all the qualities that would be the perfect compliment for me. 

Often, I have not treasured her as I should.  I have not valued our differences enough.  Yet, now I realize that God knew exactly what I needed.  I am thankful that He created and formed this gracious woman.  I can imagine the day that God commanded her birth and looked at her and said, “She is good! She is mine!”  Words cannot express the love that I have for her.   He has given me a beautiful, loving, caring and godly wife.

Nearly 22 years ago when we married, I would have never dreamed that our lives would lead us where we have come.  Through 17 years of pastoring, she has been such a blessing to me as she serves along side of me in ministry.  Though I often get the pats on the back, because my ministry is more public, Sonya quietly serves.  Serves in many capacities.  She doesn’t do it for recoginition, she does it because she is a woman who loves God with all of her heart.  I could never make it in ministry without her.  She truly is my help meet.

Happy Birthday My Cheney!

@dannycheney1 My morning prayer “Lord, give our church a new pastor and let that new pastor be me. Change me and revive me.” I want 2 be what my ppl need.

Sunday we took a look at having an audacious pursuit for the things of God.  This required us to have an audacious faith and audacious prayers.  Many people wrote down their audacious prayers for our church.  I have been blown away by the daring and bold prayers that were prayed.  I could sense the faith in every request, and this morning, I began praying for each request.  I am excited to seee the results of our linking together in prayer for these things.  Follow the link to take a look at these audacious prayer requests.

Audacious Prayers For RFA

Matthew 21:22, “And  whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

Jesus gives us a promise about prayer.  Whatever things you ask in pray you will receive if you believe.   What a promise!   Why is it so hard to believe in the power of prayer?  If we truly believed in God’s power to answer, we would pray more.  We are weak in prayer because we are weak in faith.  Somehow we have convinced ourselves that God will not answer so why pray.  I am reminded of the Scripture, “You have not because you ask not”.  The Bible also tells us to let our requests be made known to God.

As a sidenote, I find it interesting that Jesus gives us this great promise of answered prayer in the same chapter as His challenge for the church to be a house of prayer.  He has called us to engage in believing prayer. As individuals and as a church.

Acts 20:26-27, “Therefore I testify to you this day that I  am  innocent of the blood of all  men. 27 For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.”

Paul is recounting his life in ministry and testifies that he has been faithful in sharing the Gospel with all men. He has gone preaching the kingdom of God and declaring the whole counsel of God.

Sandwiched in this text is a convicting statement for most people but it was a relief to Paul. He said, “I am innocent of the blood of all men.” Instantly, it takes us back to the prophet Ezekiel. Ezekiel 3:18, “When I say to the wicked, ‘you shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.”

Can we say with Paul that there is no blood on our hands? Or are we guilty of not sharing, with the world, the message of this life-changing Gospel? May we be messengers of Christ and proclaim Him to this desperate generation.