Making a Miraculous Marriage – Andrew & Tiffany Bucksot

How can we have a Miraculous Marriage?  When Tiffany and I  first started out as a couple, we were totally ignorant and hopeless as a couple.  We had no idea of what it took to make a marriage work.

We made a decision to learn and to make our marriage work.  Now, so many years later, we are still married, and moving forward into even a greater marriage then we thought possible.

Making Jesus Christ the center of your marriage and your life is the basis of what makes a marriage last and improve. With him in your lives, your marriage will be a true testimony to everyone around you of the power of God at work in your lives.

God takes two people who are completely different and designed them to become one.  They look, act, think and process differently 100% differently, yet they are to become one.

Very few people actually experience a  miraculous marriage and that is why so many families face difficulties and are in trouble today. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Tiffany and I have learned several things over the years to help us to make our marriage miraculous.  When these practical and simple things are in place,  your marriage, your parenting ability and your families future will be truly miraculous.

1. Share the same vision. Marriages fall apart because they forget that they’re supposed to have a vision.  Before we go married Tiffany had a dream.  She was running on a track and out of nowhere I came running up next to her in another lane and before we knew it, our two lanes became one.   Two visions is division, so live united by one vision.
2. Focus on “US” and not “ME”. For marriage, parenting, finances, child raising, ministry, work or any area of life, get the me out of marriage and put the us in marriage.  Pray about us, talk about us and dream about us.  Keep your focus on you two more than you.
3. Learn the power of agreement. The place of agreement is the place of power.  When you put yourselves in agreement you put yourselves in the place of power.  Agreement is not to not disagree, rather to work out the details of the disagreement in order to come to an agreement.  Agreement requires humility.  Love seeks to understand rather than be understood.
4. Express a giving heart. Couples who give are couples of great joy and fulfillment.  Instead of placing the focus of your life on what you can obtain, you focus on how to give.  Marriage is more about giving than getting.  Marriage relationships go wrong when giving is absent.   Givers go to greater levels when they shut out the voice of the devil.
5. Time together. Keeping your marriage miraculous, like any type of relationship requires time, effort and contact.  Do things together with your spouse.  Exercise togetherness and you will build strong togetherness muscles that can not be pulled apart.

Bucksot Leadership- A Tribute to a True Hero

One of our heroes graduates heavenward at 57

There are not many people in life whom are considered true heroes, but Pastor Billy Joe Daugherty was and is one of them.  His life and his love have touched countless millions if not billions of people around the world. When my wife and I first started in ministry Pastors Billy Joe and Sharon were a huge part of those initial years. When our first church began to grow, their leadership and support helped us to continue forward through many challenges and difficult decisions. When we started our first International Victory Bible Institute their donation of books and material was a vital part of its success.  As our son was born 3 ½ months premature, Pastor Billy Joe and Sharon were right there with us to encourage us through that tough time.  They prayed for us and our son, and asked thousands of other people around the world to do the same. When we made our first trip off of the mission field, back to Tulsa, Pastor called us out of the crowd by name and prayed and prophesied over us.  He said that God has seen the pure motive of our hearts and He was opening up greater levels of accomplishment than we had never imagined possible. Our most recent trip to Tulsa, in August of 2009,we were again impacted by his love towards us, his encouragement to us and his generosity to all those around him.  It is only God that can form a person into such greatness.  He has taught us through the years to continually  increase our vision, live holy before God, always be harvest minded, be generous towards others and strive to unite people together. I learned some time ago in leadership that whatever you behold you will eventually become. This is one man’s life that my family and I, as well as the thousands of pastors and leaders we equip each year can follow without shame or regret.  To behold Christ is our greatest reward.  To follow godly examples of men like Pastor Billy Joe is a true honor. We honor the Lord by taking up the baton which you have given to us  Pastor Billy Joe and carrying it into the far corners of the world.  Your life will live on through us and those around us. With much love, Andrew, Tiffany, Jonathan and Victoria Bucksot Dr. Andrew Bucksot – Leadership

A SECOND CHANCE

Success is not an event. It is a process of ups and downs. Successful people do not become successful from one day to another. Every single successful person in the world has two things in common. #1 – Successful people do not give up in diverse trials. #2 – Successful people, when they fail, keep moving forward.

Successful people do make mistakes and bad decisions. The truth about success is that without failure there would never be success. If we took a poll of how many people have made mistakes, we would find that 100% of all people everywhere have made mistakes.

We all desire to have a second chance. If it were possible many people would want to return to some point in their past and re-live a portion of their life in order to have a second chance. Look at Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Peter and even Paul… Should I continue? – God is a God of the second chance.

Instead of looking in the mirror, look through the pages of the Bible to see an extensive list of the failures and mistakes which human beings are prone to make. No one in the Bible was perfect, but both their failures and mistakes made them the greats of the greats throughout history. Before you ever think of throwing in the towel in life, understand that God is the God of a second chance.

“Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time.” In Jonah 3:1, God gave Jonah a second chance. Like Jonah, we each want to control our own destinies. God has called us to do something and go somewhere in a certain way and according to a particular plan. Unfortunately, like most of us, we have chosen to do things our own way. That is why we need the grace of the God of a second chance.

It does not matter where you have come from, or what you may be facing in your life. God has not finished with you. It is time for you to open your eyes, and realize that God has plans that are greater than you could ever imagine. Live beyond the impossible. Reach higher than the unreachable. Your life is a miracle and God is working on your behalf.

God’s Grace Upon You,

Dr. Andrew & Tiffany Bucksot

www.multiculturalmissions.com

Wrecking Wimps by Building Character

Andrew Bucksot – Leadership

I was ministering to 600 young people in Progreso, Mexico when I made a plea for all of the young men to walk away from their boyhood and begin to walk and live as men of God. These young men ranged from thirteen to eighteen years old. As I told them that today was the day for them to become men, they came running to the altar to stop being wimps for the world and become champions for God.

They were challenged to be men who would follow after God, and allow God to wreck the wimp status that the world had tried to place upon them. I challenged them to become champions for God’s kingdom and live righteous before their Creator.

Dozens of young men ran to the alter to give their lives to the One who gave His life for them. It is time that God wrecks wimps and builds champions, but first those who are male by birth, must allow God to make them men after His own heart.

A man is a person who allows his character to be formed through obeying God and by making decisions that will glorify Him. When a decision is made to glorify God a man’s character is built. The more he makes a decision to follow God’s eternal plan and His kingdom principles, the more that man begins to take on the character of God.

Character is not about being in the spotlight, or having a title or a name. Character is about forming the likeness of Christ through decisions that lift up and glorifies Jesus Christ. Character seeks to become humble and then shun pride and self reliance.

Character is about becoming a servant and leading other people to levels of greatness that they could never achieve alone. It is about establishing God’s kingdom in one’s own heart and establishing His kingdom throughout the nations of the world.

Character is about a man who takes responsibility for his actions. A male becomes a man when he accepts responsibility for both the right, as well as the wrong he has done. He does not excuse his behavior, rather admits his failures, confesses his mistakes and throws himself at the feet of the One who rescued his soul from death’s sting and horrible lie of sins deception.

Character in a man causes him to launch out into the deep of not knowing and then presses on and never give up. No matter how dark and difficult life gets God’s champions press on without ever giving up. A man of God’s character does not give up on God, because he knows that God would never give up on him.

Character makes a man build something greater than a man’s own name or fame. A true man of God is more interested in building God’s kingdom than his own kingdom. A man of God’s character sees the greatness of God’s eternal plan as more important than his own plans and pursuits.

Character causes the man of God to obey God’s word no matter how ridiculous or foolish is may seem to those around him. To obey God’s word is to obey the One who is greater than himself. To obey God’s word is to live for a greater purpose than a world of personal satisfaction, ease and entertainment.

Character is what shapes a person who was born a male, into a person who is called to be a man. A man of character is a person who refuses to bow his knee and close his mouth to perversity and wrong living. He does not accept abnormality as normal. He does not allow a politician or an activist to direct his steps or control his destiny.

Character is what gives a man the courage to call what is wrong, wrong and raise the standard to expect people to respond to live right and become righteous in their lives, with their families and in their profession.

Character gives a man the courage to stand against all accusation and persecution and insist that God’s rule for marriage and relationships is the right way. That man stands strong against those who promote males to be wimps, homosexuals and weak and calls them instead to be men of character, heterosexual and strong for God.

A man of God is one who has allows God to wreck his life as a wimpy male, in order to become a strong man of courage and honor. Allow God to build you into the champion you were called to be. Make a decision right now that you will allow God to take you where you could never go without His grace and mercy.

LEADERSHIP LISTEN LIVE

Once you go to right with your comments then the left calls you a bigot. If you go to left, then the right criticizes you. Forget about going down the middle, because you will never take a stand. Take the road less traveled and choose neither religious redundancy nor political babbling.

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” Ralph Waldo Emerson It is impossible to please everyone at anytime in your life, but when you go to your grave make sure that those you have influenced know what you stood for.

In the words of the ancient writer Solomon, “Let the wise listen and add to their learning.” The days are upon us when listening to wisdom is no longer something we eagerly await. Our grandfathers are no longer the wells of wisdom, but the products of foolishness. They have chosen to ignore God, principle, wisdom and human kindness.

There was once a day when listening to the voice of wisdom was listening to the voice of reason, prudence, discipline and guidance. Understanding words of insight require listening to those who have stood in the face of adversity and have learned in the darkness of despair, yet stood for principle. Hetero-phobia bigots stand for what is popular rather than the principle of right and wrong.

This present generation has not been taught value nor the honor of principle and life therefore they stand for what is popular, not what is eternal and right. “In the age-old contest between popularity and principle, only those willing to lose for their convictions are deserving of posterity’s approval.” Gerald R. Ford

Build a legacy for doing what is right, just and fair, rather than what is popular, comfortable and self-seeking. As leaders, we must make decisions based upon eternity and not upon popularity. Popularity is a narrow road with a heavy toll on the human soul.

Legacy is made by our every decision, no matter how unpopular or controversial. Dante stated, “Be as a tower firmly set; Shakes not its top for any blast that blows.” The bias news media, political bigots and religiously ignorant will not understand the man of conviction, so stand firm under their criticism and scorn and listen to reason and live.

Running After Righteousness

You and I are both loved by God and lovers of God.   That may sound a little to basic for some of you, but that is the reality of who we are, “Loved By God” and what we do, “Lovers Of God”.  As you and I wonder through life searching for life’s meaning and our purpose for exsistance upon this obviously identity starved planet we call earth, we must strive to remember that we are loved by God and we are lovers of God.

 The world around us will try to squeeze us into a place where the secondary issues of life become the primary issues and the primary issue becomes the secondary pursuits of our hearts.  The primary issue is to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength and love our neighbor as our selves.  The secondary issues are everything else.  In our own hearts, we must constantly remind ourselves that to strive after secondary wines, or the secondary rewards which both God and this life offer, is to prostitute our hearts for the sake of self satisfaction and acceptance.

This is a deep pit and a wide trap that is designed to suck us into the trap of human validity.  There is no human on the face of this earth that can validate you in your pursuit to discove your own personal right standing before God.   Althought day after day, men and women are lead like ox going to the slaughter or like deer stepping into a noose, little knowing that that it will cost them their lives. As you and I take a step into God’s presence and decide that who He is to me, for me and in me, is more important that what people think of me and what I can accomplish by striving after their approval, I can avoid the pit of deception and the trap of performance.

My wife and I used to really like to watch football on television. We still like the sport greatly, but there is a new dynamic coming into the game that was not there several years ago. That new dynamic is the approval trap for these young men who are being asked, from very early on in life, to perform in order to be approved. We agree that in order to get a job of substantial value the one looking for pay must perform in order to be paid, but there is a new level of perversity which is coming in to play that is captivating a generation, becuase my generation bought into the lie that it is alright to perform well, becuase to perform well is to get paid well. Once we bought into that, the rules change and the performance trap gets even more intence. For our children, we are to raise them differently than we were raised. We will not sit around and wacth
James Bond movies, that are full of sexual content. We will not teach them to get ahead at any cost. We will not teach them that performance is justified because that is what is expected of us.

We will teach our children to run after righteousness. We will teach ourselves and teach future generations to run after the reality that they are loved by God and that they are lovers of God. We run after righteousness because that is the primary pursuit in life. Running after righteousness is what gives us understanding into who we are and what we are here for. Running into the reality that God has made us righteous becuase of what He did for us and not by what we can do for ourselves is vitally important. Grab hold of the reality that your life’s pursuit is to run after His presence and not let go, no matter what you have done, no matter where you have come from. Your life long pursuit is to discover who He is in you. When your heart is set in the right place, seeking the right pursuit, that is when healing begins it’s restoring work.

Dodge Or Throw?

“David said to his men, ‘Put on your swords!’ So they put on their swords, and David put on his.  About four hundred men went up with David, while two hundred stayed with the supplies.”

Nabal did not respond well to David.  David out of a pure heart to help, serve, give his best, be sincere, be a servant and looking to bless someone was completely and utterly confounded by the words that Nabal responded when asked if he could give even something minimal to David and his men for having helped Nabal protect his property and belongings.

Nabal did not owe David anything.  He did not know David, nor what his motives were.  He did not know if David was going to continue to ask him for more.  Could it be extortion?  Could it be a trap?  Could it be someone looking to steal from him?  Nabal did not know.

Have you ever been in the situation where it did not matter what you did, no matter how you said it or no matter how much you tried to do something good for someone else, it just seemed like the wrong thing to do?  If it has not happened to you yet, it may.

My wife Tiffany and I totally enjoy serving and giving.  In fact we decided that upon getting married, we would give ourselves completely over to God and allow Him to take us and lead us wherever He would so desire.  That is a dangerous thing to do by the way.

He has lead us to some of the toughest places and most religious places within Mexico and other nations in Latin America to help people and give to people out of voluntary love.  It would be awesome to say that everyone responds so positively and lovingly when we sow love and offer life to them, but that is not always the case.

David offered Nabal, out of the purity of his own heart, what he could, but it was not enough to impress Nabal.  Have you ever been there?  You give it your all and it is never quite enough?  You feel like you just can’t win or you cannot quite break through with others?

Let me encourage you right now.  David started to took the road which many people naturally take.  Instead of taking one on the chin, he responded how Saul responded.  He responded the same way in which God was training him not to respond.  Saul threw a spear, David put on a sword.  Someone may have said or done some pretty wrong to you, but throwing the spear or strapping on sword is not the answer.

David was in training, just like you and I are in training.  What are we in training for?  We are in training for godliness.  We are being trained by God to respond how God would respond.  A reality of life is that we cannot control how others will react, but we can control how we react.  Grow in godliness, not godlessness.

Dodge the insults.  Take the low road.  Bite the bullet. Take one for the team.  You getting this? I know it hurts.  I know it does not feel good.  I know it just does not seem fare, but choose to dodge instead of throw.  If you choose not to throw you grow.

Invite God’s awesome presence to consume your very being, by being consumed by His awesome presence.  In the end, your godliness will not be measured by what you have accomplished, where you traveled, how much you made, the social status you obtained, rather by the character of Christ which was formed within you.  (God’s eternal fruit)

Over the next 45 days Tiffany and I want to raise $2,500 US to give 180 children Christmas Boxes.  Many of them, for the first time in their lives, will receive presents like school supplies, clothes, toys and other items.  They live in a remote village area where they see few people and have even less.

We would like to invite you to participate in giving towards this special event.  You can give by pay pal on our web site at www.multiculturalmissions.com, or send any gift to VWC 5905 Brook Hollow PKWY Norcross, GA 30071 and on the memo line write Bucksot – Christmas Box.

Desireing God’s Grace to Dodge,

Andrew Bucksot

The Reality of Spiritual Fathering

If we are to be truly honest with ourselves, a significant portion of today’s Christian leaders, whom we have esteemed as leaders, are leaders more for what they have accomplished, rather than for who they are. Each of us is either on a road to be spiritual fathers and mothers, or spiritual sons and daughters, and who we look to for guidance, direction and input will influence us as to where our journey will take us.

Being a spiritual father or mother is a very high and prestigious call that not many are able to endure. There is a rigorous endeavor necessary and a spiritual insight required in order to enlighten and inspire, younger believers to seek God with an overwhelming passion of voluntary love and an unquenchable desire to never surrender their hearts to other lovers, rather than to Him.

To be a true spiritual father or mother, you or I must have a deeply rooted reality of the revelation of God’s character and an untainted insight of Jesus’ beauty, His righteousness, justice and perfectly flawless dominion. Anything less is a shallow attempt to produce sons and daughters who will be able to withstand the many waters of life and stand strong in adversity with their hearts sealed towards God in the reality of His unwavering perfection.

In times past a spiritual father or mother was someone who allowed others to carry their Bible, tote their bag, wash their car, empty their trash or thousands of other tasks in order to prove the son’s or daughter’s worth. Spiritual parents are more than those who can show someone how to work. They must be someone who is established in intimacy before God and who can offer a lifestyle and a belief that ignites a fiery passion and provoke a lifelong yearning for discovering God’s presence. I have said this on many occasions, “Spiritual fathers are those who provoke others to develop the unlimited potential, which God has placed within them.”

It is not a common occurrence to find a person who is willing to live their life to pave a way for others to emulate. It is not first nature for someone to willfully live a life that selfishly gives so that someone else may advance. I think of our two children and how important it is that Tiffany and I instill within them the urgency to grow profoundly rich and deeply founded in their inheritance in God. As true natural fathers and mothers we see how important it is for our children to emulate a lifestyle of lovesickness for Jesus Christ. What should our daily lifestyle look like? How should we spiritually parent our children?

We are natural fathers and mothers to our children, because they were born out of our love for one another, but to be considered spiritual fathers and mothers we should operate in a love for them born out of a love for God to be their rich and exceeding reward. That love should supersede all other secondary wines and pleasures of life. A spiritual father and mother is more concerned about their son’s and daughter’s advancement rather than their own. A spiritual father and mother is more interested in passing the torch, having done all that was called of them to do. That is hard for me to say, but even harder for me to live, but that is the reality of what it takes to be considered a true spiritual parent.

We focus much of our time in Latin America equipping pastors, and leaders to make their own lives and ministries better. That is not a bad thing, but it is not the highest thing. What we need as human beings is Christianity not founded on someone else teaching others how to be happier or how to better themselves rather a Christianity founded in the reality of living, moving and having our being enlightened by the One who loves our souls and who has His contentment with us.

That is what will produce true faithfulness, persistence, perseverance and character when the trials of life come. There are too many who have strayed from living with an undivided and sold out heart for Jesus, because the cares of life have come in and robbed them of their true worth and beauty before God. It is time to recover those broken and hungry hearts once again, and it can be done.

A spiritual father or mother must be, above all things faithful and devoted to live, not only talk, a life of intimacy with God. The Apostle Paul stated that it is required that the stewards of God be found faithful. (1 Cor 4:2) Faithful in all areas of life, not just in those, which are easy, but also those areas that require more time, effort and dedication. Faithful stewards are faithful in their marriage, in their financial administration, in their time with children, in their relationship with God and with the relationships of those close to them. People are drawn to faithfulness. People want to be able to find a faithful person. We do not talk about our faithfulness rather we live it.

One of the principle reasons why spiritual fathering and mothering is not commonly spoken about in our time is because that is not what builds large impressive facilities or leaves a lasting legacy for multitudes to look back upon and remember our lives. We know about Paul and Timothy. We know about Paul and Titus. There are others throughout history that dedicated their lives to spiritually father or mother those around them, but the point is that we will not typically remember their names. Jesus called twelve, when he could have called twelve thousand. He invested much time with three when he could have invested time with three hundred.

Being faithful to few people is more difficult, demanding and required more disciple than being recognized by many. The true test of my own leadership is not measured by what others say about me but by what those closest to me think of me. It I can dazzle the masses with motivational speeches, but I cannot win my wife’s trust and respect, who am I? If accolades are thrown at me on ever side, but my children do not want to be with me, what have I become? Think for just a moment upon your own life. Who are you and what have you become? Are you, to those who love you the most, considered faithful? Are you someone whom they will look to as a spiritual father or mother? As for me, I must adjust.

A position of authority is not enough to satisfy the intense desire to fulfill my eternal and internal calling. I must hunger to be someone who is authentically as the One who called me into His service. As Jesus gave His disciples the list of eight character requirements needed in order to be worthy of one who follows Him in Matthew chapter five, I see now the importance for spiritual fathers and mothers to live according to a different set of cultural values. One who counts the cost (v.3), one who is hurt by that which hurts God (v.4) one who does not fight for his own benefit (v.5), one who hungers and thirst for an awakening of God’s character (v.6), one who extends mercy to those no one else does (v.7), one who lives with the goal of purity (v.8), one who brings reconciliation (v.9) and also one who is slandered, cheated, beaten, misrepresented, scorned and looked down upon because of their stance for their Savior and Lord. (v.10)

What is the reality of spiritual fathering and mothering? It is not living for self, rather living as a model of the culture of God’s kingdom values. It is not about fame, fortune, recognition, position, applauses, red carpets, or even respect, honor or admiration; it is about becoming someone of spiritual significance to someone else. I think of the greatest words I could ever hear Jesus say of me on this side of eternity, and what would those words be, “follow him, as he follows me.” In other words, well done, good and faithful servant.

Andrew Bucksot & Tiffany Bucksot – wwwlvictorymexico.org or www.multiculturalmissions.org