Challenges For Growth.

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Comment by Jesse James on January 19, 2009 at 12:53pm

*Encourage or Discourage?*

Sometimes in life there can be situations that come along that the Holy Spirit wants us to step up, speak up, and break up in other's pain. How many times, do we feel isolated,
lonely, confused, and on and on it goes. It is hard to go to another, especially if we have been a Christian a while, and just want someone to listen to us. It matters not
if we are pastors, prime ministers, lay person, labourer, street person, or just someone who walks through the door for the very first time in search of hope. We are all proned to
hardships and struggles, and each and everyone wants to feel loved and accepted. If we fail to offer this, then who are we really hurting? We hurt the person, ourselves, and
we cheat the Kingdom of God by not stepping up to help another so they can move forward with another testimony of God's grace and love.

Listening is one of the greatest tools that we can possess. When we listen, do we sit there day dreaming, thinking of a response, or do we allow ourselves to get
distracted by a bird flying by the window? When we listen properly, we can hear what another is saying, and often we can hear what they do not say. However, we do not hear them when we are not focused on them, and our answers are totally off when we do response. Consequently, they either have to start over, or feel like no one really listens or care about their situation.
We as people can be a safety net to those drowning in their sea of turmoil and struggle by giving each person our undivided attention by listening to them, which can make another feel so special and so worthy.

Barnabus is a Biblical example who could speak into one life or to the masses.
In order to encourage another, one on one, there are Three Life Changing A's: your Attention, your Affection, and your Affirmation, and in these you can add to ones life changing experience. Genuinely applying these gifts others know they can come to us without fear of being condemned, judged, and afraid in bringing out their hurt, pain, or the obstacle restraining them from moving forward. Many may feel foolish and think they are the only one who have thoughts as they do, but their thoughts are restraining. What a tremendous blessing to know that we can be that person that other's can come to in the midst of their storms and be so uplifted and go forward with some hope and joy.

If not for Barnabus one of the greatest Biblical leaders wouldn't have made his way into being with the disciples. Having a horrid past toward Christians (Saul) Paul was feared and not too trustworthy, and when he came to Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples but they feared him. Barnabus took a stand for him, and spoke up on his behalf, Acts 9:26,17., and brought him to the disciples. This was one tremendous stand to take because to look down through history now so many lives have been impacted by the Apostle Paul.

Paul and Barnabus being the first Christian missionaries worked well together, but eventually they had a disagreement about allowing Mark to travel with them.
Paul was against Mark travelling with them because of his lack of experience, so Paul and Barnabus separated and Barnabus took Mark with him. Barnabus took the time to encourage Mark, and teach him because Barnabus was a man of second chances. Being a man of second chances, Barnabus would of had to go through various situations over and over again to help Mark mature in his ministry. Later on in 2Timothy 4:11 Paul wrote that "Mark was helpful to his ministry", and it all came about because Barnabus believed in Mark and took the time to teach him.

These life changing incidents can still happen today if we take the time to give the Three Life Changing A's to others who come across our paths.
Do I do this, do you do this whenever the opportunity presents itself? Just think if we only took a minute with each person, regardless of their status, and said
something encouraging instead of looking at their faults. What a tremendous statement to make in the world, the church, our homes, and whereever we may be.
I encourage you by saying how worthy and special you really are, and regardless of who you are I want to say I love you for you. You are a creation of God made in His
image, and if I fail to see this then I must look to my own heart and ask why.
By encouraging others it is evident that we live to love, and love to live.

Comment by Jesse James on January 19, 2009 at 12:47pm

*What is Guiding You, Emotions or Faith?

There are a couple reasons that can hinder our prayer lives. One is, the lack of faith that He will answer our prayers? Disclosure of this lack to other believers could bring about fear of judgement, or maybe leave an impression of doubt with those who are already questioning the legimatcy of faith as they witness a lack of effort by those who do profess it. However, until confessing the lack of faith and effort, one cannot begin to experience the freedom in moving forward into His Will.
Secondly, we may not sense God near us. According to scripture, God is always near, and it is us who moves away from Him. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord,"They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future & a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me, I will be found by you," says the Lord, and "I will end your captivity..."Jeremiah 29:11-14. I would like to stress here that we should be serious in looking for Him, and then we will find Him. This does not mean that we have to have a stiff upper lip after we find Him, because the joy of the Lord is our strength. He wants us to be serious in our relationship, but have fun as we live our relationship out with Him.

Our emotions can go from one extreme to another. Could it be that, we fail to seek balance in our Christian lives. When we allow our emotions to guide us, and because of the fraility of our emotions, our prayer lives can get eroded. Then we try to hide it, either by making ourselves busy through other activities in our lives, or we'll try and fake a humerous approach around fellow believers. All the while our insides are feeling like we ate a bag full of sour decaying lemons. To achieve this exciting reward, we started to replace His life within us, with our continuous failing pride in our life by thinking we can do it alone.

We don't get emotional while studying History, for example, and we take it "as is" and accept it as information. However, when I go to the Word and learn how to walk in my Christian life, I will experience emotions, but of the Godly kind. In John 17:17 Jesus said to His Father, "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth". When we deal with Godly truths, the hidden skeletons that no one sees in us, other than Him, can surface, and activate those fearful emotions that will prevent us from finding the freedom through His truth's. Therefore, if we don't take the time to seek out the truth for constructive change, how can we allow ourselves to be sanctified in Godliness? Failure will go before us, and we can blame no one else, as we are responsible and accountable for our lack of action. By failing to pursue Godly truths, we will fail to move beyond negative emotions. Anger, fear, lust, and etc. are negative emotions that will possess us, and contol us if we fail to seek and act on the truth.

Emotions are not dependable, or all that helpful, as they can go from one extreme to another, and a balance cannot be achieved while in their extremes . Therefore, our prayer life should be governed by scripture. It is very plausible, that we will experience emotions in our faith because of all the goodness that can come our way, and all the truths that lead us closer to Him. I love the emotion of excitement when God answers my prayers, and it is an emotion of genuine joy, and etc. Healthy emotions, relating to God in Our growth, can be determined by our obedience in practicing the Word as a result of the quality of time that we put into our Bible intake, our meditations, and in our prayer lives. The quality of time is more important than the quantity of time. If your growth in Godliness was measured accordingly, where would yours be? I readily admit that I know mine needs improvement? Therefore, I am the only one who can change this in my life.

Jesus said in John 15:5, "Apart from me you can do nothing". Now this can be humbling when we think we can move forward on our own. The truth is, is that we are nothing by ourselves, and it is all the more reason we should try and put into practice what we learnt in the good times, that is, if we welcomed His presence with us in those times. Many times we open ourselves up for difficulties. How can this be? Living in the human capacity of intelligence and need there really isn't that much difference. When things really go well for us, how many times have we stepped away ahead of ourselves thinking we can do it all on our own, until we hit something that knocks us down. So we go from our self will and fall deep into the unwanted dung. It never ceases to fail, but when things are good, we want the credit, then when things get tough we find excuses galore in denying it was our responsibility. If someone asked what did you do, our response is usually, "Who Me". For some reason, we are more healthy spiritually when we are living somewhere in the middle between the high points and the low points, between I am great and I am a real dud. However, we can really scream out to God when we are in the dud stage. I have come to believe that because of this, we should strive for a balanced life to prevent us from getting out of control spiritually, and emotionally.

There are many texts that relate specifically to our individual situations, and we can meditate and pray on them, but the scripture alone isn't sufficient in our growth. We must give authorization to the Holy Spirit to make God's Word come alive within us. If we want growth, we must be willing to study the Word of God, meditate on it, pray on it, and allow the Holy Ghost to bring it alive within us. In this way, we can increase our faith, and reassures us that the joy of the Lord will be our strength. What an awesome emotion to carry us into and throughout our daily lives.

In my experiences, I have come across verses that related specifically to my circumstances, and they are the ones I have, and try to continue to focus on in my devotions until victory comes. One text worthy of meditating on is Phil 4:8,9 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things". If we take the time to meditate on this text, we will not have time to focus on all the negative things in our lives. 9"Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you". This is so powerful, and as we seek God's peace, it will come if we persevere in His truths. When we do this, Satan cannot harm any of us. He will only have what we give him.
Scriptures are of Divine guidance, and encourages us to follow them. The greater part of it is, is that it puts responsibility back onto us in order to have the Peace of God within us. It has to be our desire to grow in His goodness, and apply the scripture in our lives as He will not force us to. How often do we hear the preacher's sermons, and say how lovely they were, and forget them before we leave the pew. Sadly this can happen all too often, and those who fail to hear the message, fail to hear the Word that will enable them to move forward in Christ. is
Listening to many who say they read their Bibles daily is sweet music to a fellow believer ears, but when their lifestyle is continuous in failing to line up with the Word, it is evident something is lacking. The only way we get that full blessing from God is by being obedient to His Word. This will take us deeper into our growth and maturity. Reading, or hearing His Word is an action, but more important, we must act upon what we read or hear, then it will become a life changing experience as never before. By applying His Word in our lives, we are acting upon the Covenant of obedience that became a part of the agreement when we asked Christ into our life.
In conclusion, where do you pastor, layperson, church member, leader, and etc., stand in accepting His direction in your life? In asking myself this, growth is unending, but necessary for me as I strive forward to further Godliness in my life. Regardless of who we are, we are all searching for the same thing, and everyone is accepted into this rewarding walk of faith. As we walk together, pray together, support each other, and just love each other, we won't have time to focus on all the negatives in ourselves or in others because we are all equal in God's eyes as we strive and work out our own salvation in our own individual lives.
God Bless,
By: Jesse James

Comment by Jesse James on January 19, 2009 at 12:43pm

THE "U" IN JESUS
Before U were thought of or time had begun,
God even stuck U in the name of His Son.
And each time U pray, you'll see it's true
You can't spell out JesUs and not include U.

You're a pretty big part of His wonderful name,
For U, He was born; that's why He came.
And His great love for U is the reason He died.
It even takes U to spell crUcified.

Isn't it thrilling and splendidly grand
He rose from the dead, with U in His plan.
The stones split away, the gold trUmpet blew,
and this word resUrrection is spelled with a U.

When JesUs left earth at His upward ascension,
He felt there was one thing He just had to mention.
Go into the world and tell them it's true That I love them all -
Just like I love U.

So many great people are spelled with a U,
Don't they have a right to know JesUs too?
It all depends now on what U will do,
He'd like them to know
But it all starts with U. --

Author Unknown

Comment by Jesse James on January 19, 2009 at 12:40pm

*Struggles Can Be A Real Blessing *
By: Jesse James

How often in life do we get depressed or pulled down in our personal battles, whether it be physical, financially, a setback, or just when life deals us an unwanted or unexpected blow? Having a physical disability can be very difficult to cope with, regardless of its nature. Some are blind, others have physical ailments but can see, others have greater challenges, but regardless what it is, how many times do we sit back and wonder what God is doing by allowing these difficulties. Our attitudes can become impaired, our emotions can go wild, our spiritual life can suffer, and we can question our faith because of teachings we have absorbed over time. Needless to say, it can take us into a deep pit of despair and turmoil. We can adopt a negative state of mind, a negative state in spirit, thus rendering us into hopelessness. Then at our lowest point, we can come across those who claim it must be sin, or our lack of faith that has resulted in our unwanted struggle , and that God is punishing us for this. There are times when sin can contribute, but not in every person who struggles. The Apostle Paul is a great example of whom had a thorn in his flesh that caused him great difficulty, and his faith was exceptionaly deep.
As I took some time to sit back and meditate on this topic, I came across a scripture that had such a great impact on my whole situation, since I stuggle in my own difficulties. It was the text where Jesus was questioned about the blind man who was born blind. In these times, the Jewish culture believed that if a man had struggles and suffered, or if a child was born with physical handicaps, then he must of had some unacceptable sin in his life, or that the parents must of had sin in there lives to have a child with such sickness. However, Jesus responded in John 9:3 (NIV)"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life". Now if God allowed this man to be born blind, then maybe God had a plan to allow Jesus to heal him later on, and allow God's great works to be brought forth at the most opportune time. This however, had nothing to do with any sin in his parents lives, or into his own adult life being blind.
Over the years, I have questioned why God allows suffering, whether physical, emotional, spiritual, or the many challenges that can really stretch us to our limits, that are not of our own making. While reading the commentary in my NIV Bible there was a statement that stood out in regards to this. It said, "If God took suffering away whenever we asked, we could adopt the attitude that we could follow Him for our comfort and convenience, and not out of love and devotion". Therefore, I put some thought into this and how many of us, and how often would we take God for granted if He were to bail us out of every situation whenever we asked. I do know that God walks with us through all our trials, and regardless of how long it takes us to overcome our trials, He is leading the way whether we realize it or not. Through these trials we learn so much about His love and graciousness toward us, and each situation is a testimony about His love and grace that others need to see and hear.
Furthermore, when we have a setback, or life deals us a tough blow, maybe we should recognize that we are His vessel that he has choosen to show His favor and goodness through. When life's struggles come our way, maybe our attitude should be, God, I’m ready, and I know You have something great in store! I know You are allowing me this struggle to show others, and myself, just how great Your awesomeness really is. Myself, I can find it difficult to project this attitude when I only see it as a pain, and a pain that wears me down in all aspects, and when this happens I am not perceiving it in the spiritual as I should.
How do you deal with your struggles and challenges? Do you weigh yourself down with worry, strife, and uncertainties of what is unfolding? Do you question what God is doing in your life? There are many times I have drawn off past events in search of a possible solution to a similiar type problem I would be immersed in, since they say hindsight is 20/20. I thank God for these past incidents because they are a way where He has taught us in gaining wisdom. If we learn from them, we have a life full of possible answers to meet the challenge that is before us. If so, maybe we need to encourage ourselves by looking at past situations that God has lead us through, and in so doing we can conqueror the situation that lies before us in His favour.
My pray is for each and everyone to be victorious in any situation that is controlling you, and separating you from God. However, there are things we must do that will add to our success in finding the freedom and love again that has been missing. The greatest place to start searching is on our knees, having His Word before us, and search our own hearts for any possible actions, or attitudes that you have allowed for this separation from God.
Let us all hold each other up in prayer so we all may live joyfully, victorious, free, and most of all falling in Love with God daily, and start taking a moment of silence to reflect what Christ did on the cross for us. How many times do we show this on Rememberance Day for those brave men and women who lost their lives for our freedom here on earth, but how often do we show reverance to Jesus by taking a moment of silence to reflect on what Jesus Christ did on the cross for us, and this my brother and sister is for eternity?

Comment by Jesse James on January 19, 2009 at 12:38pm

Dec 15, 2008
*Say No To Profanity*
By: Jesse James

Years ago I would find it insulting when someone would tell me to watch my language in front of others, but it was understandable in the presence of women outside my circle of peers. The painful thing about it was, that I was using profanity as my main language, and English as a second, and how dare anyone try and change me. However, there were those who expressed themselves quite boldly of how degrading it was to listen to me. Sitting in an AA meeting, the chairman asked me if I had anything to say, and being so vocal I started to speak with every second word being profanity. While sharing my thoughts and insightfullness, the chairman shared his by telling me, "to be quiet if that is the only way I could speak, and there was no place for that gutter trash in here. Until you learn how to speak, and respect mixed company you just sit there and keep quiet". This really injured my manly pride, and I thought if only he knew who he was talking to he wouldn't be saying this to me, never mind in front of everyone. This tough macho man turned into a mouse, and did it hurt to sit there while he was sharing his thoughts while I felt like melting under the table.

The moments slipped by, the meeting came to an end, we said the Lord's Prayer, I tried to sneak out, and he called my name and said, "come here you little punk we are going to have a talk". I am still thinking, if only he knew who I was, then all of a sudden he grabbed my coat collar, marched me to a table, and said we are going to have a talk. I had no choice, so he made the decision for me. Me being all of about 140lbs. at this point, and him about 350+lbs., I soon learnt what a higher power was all about, I came to learn he didn't care who he was talking to, and I came to learn that I had better listen or else. This happened a few times, but when I look back on these times, I have come to know just how honoured I was to have him come into my life, and teach me to be more respectful around others in speech and actions. God used this man to help me move past my standards in how I presented myself. At the time, I didn't care how much he thought he knew, until I saw how much he really cared for my character to change for the better. Do I use any profanity now, there are times I do, but it is usually when I am angry, hurt, and etc. Today, I am very conscious on how I act or speak, and when I do fail, I repent out of honour and respect toward God, myself, and for my peers.

Today, when I put God first above all else, then all my words and actions will be done unto Him. I excercise my best for Him, I am still prone to failure, but God knows I am trying in all my imperfections. There are more actions stated in Col 3:8, and they are very important, but what stands out to me is that each one can impact my words, whether directly or indirectly. When we are in a battle, there are times our emotions can get away on us, and we start to use terms that we would never use otherwise.
Colossians 3:8 (NIV), "But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips".
This can appear to be a huge demand to fulfill when we are moving into a life of respect and honour toward Jesus Christ, and after we have lived a life in contrast to His teachings. If we go against His teachings, then we are submitting to the teachings of His enemy, and we must decide who's teachings we want to follow. In this text, Paul is trying to appeal to the committment we made to Jesus, and how we should remain true to that committment. This is all part of ridding ourselves from the old life, and take up the new life in Christ Jesus, as we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us.
To further expound on this topic, we must be open to the Holy Spirit where it states in Ephesians 5:4," Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving"(NIV). How many of us take for granted that any form of foul talk in conversations are the norm in these days, and some will say they are only words. The Apostle Paul cautions, that this should not be any part of the Christians conversations. When we look in the mirror, can we honestly say, to the one looking back at us, that the words departing from our lips building up others, or giving thanksgiving for all our blessings, or are they dedicated to the norm of the day.
A few years ago I took a course that reflected human behaviours, and it was interesting to learn what motivates those who use profanity, slander, gossip, and etc. Usually, those who use profanity quite frequent were doing this because they didn't think they were being listened to while they spoke respectfully, some thought it made them sound tougher, others used it to draw attention to themselves, others used it to be cool with their peers, many fall into it by being overstressed in their daily lives, but regardless it became a learnt behaviour, and I wasn't any better.
Sitting back and reflecting on it, it is devasting how we sacrifice our self respect by believing assumptions that we adopt to justify vulgar ways. After overcoming this, I have come to learn that not everyone listens anyway, but those who are important to me try their best to hear what I am saying. I don't need to try and prove my toughness anymore, and I don't need any negative attention for my learnt behaviours. The greatest gift of all is that we can learn how to undo our learnt behaviours, and go forward in a respectful manner for God, for ourselves, and for those around us.
Being a representative of God, we can show the world there is more to life than being followers. When we take a lead role in a honourable and respectful manner, we can show the world there is a respectful way by adopting God's example in the way we act and speak. Isn't it time to be a role model, and set the example for the world to see? We are the only living example of God that others may ever see, and if we fail to show our Father to them, then maybe we need to do an adjustment in our lives so we can reflect God as we should, and show gratitude for what Christ did on the Cross for us in order for us to die to our old self and put on the new.
Therefore, let's strive to give up profanity and come back to verbal sanity. There is one way to achieve this goal, and it says, "Disclipine yourselves to the pupose of Godliness", 1 Tim 4:7, and this can be achieved because it says in (Romans 8:26 NLT)”And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness…”. This tells me that He is our strength and we can do all things with Him. Just think, to give up something for Him, with Him, and through Him we will be overcomers in those things that separate us from Him, which in turn separates us from our own self respect, and that separates us from those who can get offended by our speech/actions. As Christians, we are the ones who are suppose to role model Godly practices for those who are still seeking the greatest gift that we have been graced with, and if they fail to see it in us, then where will they see it. In order to change, there has to be something others see in order to change for the greater good, and the Greater Good is the Greatest God that sacrificed His only Son, Jesus Christ, to show us all the Greatest Good.
PS: 1 Timothy 4:7 "Disclipine yourselves to the purpose of Godliness"
God Bless,
Jesse James

Comment by Jesse James on January 19, 2009 at 12:36pm

*Offer Him Our Best For Him*

Matthew 2:11 (New International Version) 11On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.
While reading this scripture, I started to think of the awesomeness that these Wise Men experienced when they came and saw Jesus in his infantcy. Eventhough, Jesus was about two years old they knew they found the King of Kings, and the Saviour for the whole world. Without hesitation they bowed down and worshipped Him, without giving attention to His parents, and then they gave expensive treasures that were only fit for a King. For the rest of their lives there would never be any experience compared to this.
To give unto Jesus is a form of worship, and regardless of the method we give, He is so deserving of it all. The gifts that they gave to Him, all had a meaning behind them - gold was a gift for a king; incense a gift for diety; myrhh, a spice was for someone who was going to die. (NIV Commentary). Giving these expensive gifts could be considered a sacrifice, but they were a true form of worship. Giving the best they had to Jesus, it wasn't for any other reason, but for honouring Him for who He was. Our worship unto Him should be of the same likeness just because of who He is. There will never be another so worthy of our worship than Jesus, because He is the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, the Great Messiah, and etc., and up through the years He is still the same today as He was back then.
When we give Jesus our absolute best; with our time, our talents, and our resources, it is an act of worship. What we are saying with our actions is, “God, You mean more to me than anything. Because You are so awesome, I want to give You everything that I am.” It pleases Him when we come to Him with an open and humble heart. When we draw near to Him, He draws near to us. When you give Him your best, He gives you His best in return. In addition, when we give Him our best, it will reflect in how we give to those around us.
In this New Year and throughout, my prayer is for the community to come together and give our best to Him. A New Year can also be a refreshing start if we dedicate our lives fully to Him, and allow Him to direct us to where He wants us to be. Do we, or have we given Him our best efforts, or have we fallen short of them. If we have fallen short, He is a God of second chances that wants to pour His blessings down upon us. Do we love our brothers and sisters? Have we restrained ourselves from getting more involved in His Will for us? What more can we do to promote His Kingdom by our individual, and collective efforts? Regardless of how we answer these questions, there is one thing I believe, and that is God wants to take us to a new level in the New Year ahead, and He wants us to have a deeper relationship with Him. When we try to take control instead of letting Him have control, we can bring forth unnecessary turmoil, cause harm to others, and the unwarranted difficulties will take over, and can bring forth separation within His family. God wants unity within His family, and it pains Him where there are preventable separations.
I want to take this time to encourage everyone to make this year a year in moving forward, and if there is anything that could hinder the promotion of our heavenly Father by means of possible pride, compatibility, envy, resentments, or whatever could cause a stumbling block in preventing a healthy, loving, and Godly atmosphere for those who are searching for that Godly intervention. Let us take time to give to the heavy laden souls, whether they are within the church, or maybe their very first time visiting, or maybe it is you and I? Let us also surrender any form of discontent within ourselves, and just be who Jesus wants us to be. If we think we are giving Jesus our very best, yet holding onto those things detrimental to our witness, or in our relationship with Him, then we are not giving Him our best.
As we go forward into the New Year, let us start to love those around us, as never before, and sacrifice by giving generously just like those men who brought gifts of such beauty to give to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The greatest gift we could ever give Him is our absolute best for His purpose. When we give Him our best, He always gives us His best.
God Bless,
Love in Christ,
By Jesse James

Comment by Jesse James on January 19, 2009 at 12:29pm

*It's Your Time*

(Habakkuk 2:3)3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.(NIV)
How many times have we questioned God about what His plan is for us? We can go through some battles that just don't seem fair at all, and then someone will say, "God has a plan for you". The last thing we want to hear is some statement that don't make sense in our state where making sense don't make sense. The only thing we want to know is what is going on within our life to cause such trying circumstances to continue. They can be demanding upon our whole being, and can become taxing in our spiritual life. In such times, where does our patience, peace, and etc. disappear to when we need it more than ever?
In a world where evil and injustice appear to have the upper hand, we can feel like Habakkuk in his anger and discouragement, and just like him we can question God for all these unfair practices that are going on all around us. Sometimes, our way of approaching God can be quite aggressive when we want to know the facts about our trying times, and by being a Christian we think He should be more prompt and understanding of our demise. Regardless of how we approach Him, He will still do it in His time anyway, and not ours. However, He will allow things to go our way so we can be a big part in the outcome of our determinisn to do things our way. How frustrating this can be is beyond definition. Furthermore, frustration comes to the front when it lingers on, but if we are trusting God for His best, then maybe we need to learn that patience is a gift to those who endure the hardships in faith that brings a confident peace within us.
With the evil that is going on in the world today, God really hates it more than we do, and His way of dealing with it is more than we ever could imagine. Habakkuk is a good example when God told Habakkuk, "Wait for it", meaning that His punishment for sin is going to happen(NIV). If we trust God fully, then why do we replace faith with our impatience in the times of our hurt, pain, and etc? Consequently, we may think we are moving forward by going ahead of God, but in the process we usually end up yelling out to Him by questioning Him as to the reason of why He isn't listening, or keeping up to us. In His humour, He most likely is shaking His head and saying, "there he goes again, let's see where this takes him this time". Regardless, in His love and patience, He never fails in picking us up after we stumble and fall as we try things on our own.
God has placed a vision, or a revelation, within us, but it will come to fruitation in God's time because He has predestined those things within our heart to come to pass. However, in the meantime we may settle for where we are at, and offer plenty of reasons to justify it. God, however, wants us to understand that the depth of our past will be an indication to where we can be elevated to in the future. He has planted His chosen seed within us, and they are of great worth if we keep on persevering in His direction. In these times, we should train ourselves to listen for His voice as it penetrates through all the turmoil and strife that we are enduring in our frustration in order to receive His divine direction, instead of this we are trying to accomplish the goal by our own efforts in our lack of patience.
If you’ve been through a lot of negative things in the past, it just means that your future will be bigger and brighter, and way beyond what you can even imagine. It’s your time to step out, and embrace all that God has for you! Are there dreams and promises that you’ve given up on? Are there things that God has placed in your heart, but because of time, because of disappointments, you’ve given up on them also? Try to keep in mind and remember, what’s happened to you is not nearly as important as what’s happened within you, and you are stronger and wiser than ever before because of the trying experiences you have endured. Now it’s your time to move forward into the destiny that God has prepared for you!
You may try and say that after what you have gone through, that you have fear and lack confidence in taking the steps needed for a comeback. However, nothing is impossible with God, when you decide to step up and go forward. A scripture that can be a real encouragement to us is found in (Proverbs 24:16a, NIV) “For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again…”. As we allow God to move with us, we can fall down, get back up, and He will make sure that we will continue to bounce back regardless of the struggle, or how many times it will take to conqueror our challenge.
Life is full of things that try to keep us down. We all face disappointments and setbacks. Maybe you got some bad news concerning your health or maybe a relationship didn’t work out. This can be a setback. It’s easy to get discouraged or lose your enthusiasm, or even be tempted to just settle where you are. But if we’re going to see God’s best, we have to have that “bounce back” mentality. That means when you get knocked down, you don’t stay down. You get back up again. You have to know that every time adversity comes against you, it’s a setup for a comeback!

We must never forget that as a believer, the same power that raised Christ from the dead is still alive and well for our benefit. There is nothing too difficult, no obstacle too high or wide, no sickness, no disappointment, no other, or anything that can keep you from your God-given destiny. When we persevere standing in our faith, God will turn those things meant to be a stumbling block into a stepping stone, and we’ll move forward as a champion full of faith and victory! Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today because I believe, "It's Your Time To Take That Next Step".
BY: Jesse James
*****

Comment by Jesse James on January 19, 2009 at 12:19pm

Dec 9, 2008
By Jesse James

*Encourage Ourselves*

There are times in life when things become overbearing and the weight of it all seems to pull us down, and in these times we long for some encouragement or direction by another.
However, in times as such, it can seem like we are fighting the battle all alone. Sadly, there are those who can turn their backs on those in the midst of it all, when they are at their most vulnerable time for further despair. This can come even in biological families, or brothers and sisters in the Lord, or just people period. David experienced this when he entered Ziglag with his men and saw how the Amalekites raided, burned down the whole place, and took captive their wives and children.

All David and his men could do was weep when they arrived at Ziglag after witnessing what had happened. David was faced with a crisis in his leadership, and became very distressed within his own personal life, when he learned some of his loved ones were captured, but also all his soldier's families being captured. In these times, David's own soldiers wanted to destroy him, and even thought about stoning him to death when they faced the truth of losing their families. What better revengeful thoughts could they come up with, as it was easier to place blame on their leader for what others did, instead of planning a stragedy to rescue their families that were taken hostage. In today's world it is not much different, there are those who want to place blame on leadership, or others, instead of taking the position of focusing on a resolution to the crisis. Just like in Exodus 17:4, Then Moses cried out to the LORD, "What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me."(NIV). Often, when there are unhappy people, their nature is to vent through frustration with thoughts of hostility toward those they blame for their own crisis, and it is like a no win situation. I can just hear Moses crying out to God for direction in how to deal with these people. His frustration was overflowing with lack of confidence in how to deal with his crisis, but by crying out he was still dependant on God for leadership because of how God previously had blessed him.
I admire David being an experienced man of battles, as he knew God was with him, and this gave him strength to seek out a solution to this ordeal. In 1 Samuel 30:6 ”David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.” He faced many oppositions, disappointments, and set backs. But the key to David’s success is found in the fact that despite the negative circumstances all around him, he drew his strength from the Lord and remembered what God had done for him in the past.

There are those times, when I just want someone to say something encouraging when I am struggling, but too many times this fails to happen. Being a member of the Christian family, we should take a moment or two and just say something to encourage another; however, when this doesn't happen, we can fall into despair, or just downtrodden, and in these times we just need to feel loved and appreciated. As a fellow believer, I believe it is so important to lift each other up and reassure each other just how important they really are, and that their efforts are so valueable to promote worthiness, acceptance, and to reach out in love to them instead of allowing them to feel all alone within their issues. Consequently, when this doesn't happen, we have to settle on encouraging ourselves just like David had to do in 1Samuel 30:6.
One of the greatest ways to encourage ourselves is to remember what the Lord has done for us. No one else can truly know how the Lord has provided for, cared for, blessed, and delivered us more than ourselves! Focus your mind and heart on what the Lord has done for you. You’ll increase your faith and have more strength, hope and joy to continue living a better life in Christ.
We all face difficult seasons in life. The key to victory during these times is to stay encouraged. Although it’s important to be lifted up by our friends, one of the best ways to stay encouraged is to encourage ourselves! In a day and age when people are very critical of themselves, we need to be just the opposite and become our own greatest encourager.
I want to relay to you that we must keep up the fight against all challenges by allowing God to pour out His love onto each and everyone so that we can keep the vision of just how great He has been to us in our times of discouragement from all the issues that surround us daily. Each of you are such a gift to God and others for all your investment into the lives of your fellow beings. Thank you for being that encouragement in my life, cause with out it the journey would be so difficult in pursuing.

Comment by Jesse James on January 19, 2009 at 12:16pm

*Disclipine Plus Obedience:* By Jesse James Dec 1, 2008

Years have come and gone just like societies thoughts of what freedom is and what it isn't. How many times have Christians wondered if they are under God's direction, or their own thoughts about who God really is in order to achieve a comfort zone within themselves. Amazingly, God didn't call anyone to be comfortable, but to be committed. With this comes challenge, growth, disclipine, and most of all obedience.


The Bible, is the greatest love letter of all times, and is regarded as our Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth whether we like it or not. Two things we should adopt are disclipine, and obedience to receive the promises inside it's covers. Sadly, some have adopted the idea it is legalistic, and they try to fit the Bible around their own agendas instead of learning and accepting God for who He really is. However, if we want to learn what is encased in the Bible we must have Spiritual Disclipine which is nothing more than Spiritual Excercise. An athelete has to have disclipine to excercise regularly, or they won't have a hope in reaching their objective.

1Timothy 4:7 "Disclipine yourselves to the purpose of Godliness". This text tells me the full purpose of disclipine is to strive for Godliness. This means we are responsible for our own growth to achieve this. To be able to achieve this goal there has to be disclipine in us to make sure we consume, or take in, Biblical direction.
However, depending upon our situations, it can be difficult to practice the disclipine surrounding this topic. Many who work just can't up and shut down their jobs to go and pursue their own agendas, so they must be disclipined to fulfill their occupational responsibilities, but what about our devotional times? Regardless, we should be taking the time for Him, because He sacrificed His Son's life for us. Therefore, who really has scarificed for the other?

There are basically three ways to fulfill our devotional times, hearing/reading, meditation, and prayer.
Hearing/Reading
Jesus encourages us to hear the Word: "Blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it" (Luke 11:28). Apostle Paul told Timothy in 1Tiimothy 4:13, "Until I get there, concentrate on reading {Scripture} in worship....". Regardless of how we take in Biblical knowledge, according to Jesus and Paul, we are encouraged to either hear the Word or read it, then to obey it. Either way, these two methods are great in absorbing scripture. Myself, I love listening to someone speak it, and then go read it through again, and if necessary ask questions to get the proper clarity of what the scripture is saying to me.

Meditation
How many times do we really meditate on what has been spoken to us? How many hear the Word and then jump into prayer without any thought of really meditating on it, or ask ourselves some questions like what is in it for me, or what is God trying to say to me, or is there something in my life that God wants me to deal with at this time. Failing to take the time to meditate on the message can make our prayers so weak, or our prayers can turn into a babbling session that means nothing more than wagging our tongue. "Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all". 1 Tim 4:13-15 (KJV) In order to meditate on scripture we have to disclipine ourselves to really focus on what is being said so we can prepare ourselves for prayer. Failing to meditate, we cheat ourselves and others out of the greatest message ever
to be. We also fail in preparing ourselves to be in unity with our Father. It amounts to the same thing as trying to be in a conversation and our thoughts are off in some foreign place instead of hearing what is being said by the person whom we are speaking with.
Meditation is the link between reading/hearing and prayer, and without it we lose so much in what could be the greatest blessing we could have.

Prayer
Jesus has taught us to pray, how to pray, and to have faith. Furthermore, He expects us to pray.
Jesus really stressed the importance of prayer, and He was a real example of disclipining Himself to do it. Many times He went to a quiet spot just to pray and spend time with His Father. Yet how many times do we rush through our prayers when it is so important in communing with our Father in Heaven.
The following scriptures are of HIS WILL, and they are instructed by HIM, and it is no different than if HE was telling us face to face.
5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Matt 6:5-7 (KJV) Other scriptures that speak of it are: Colossians 4:2 "Devote yourselves to prayer", and 1 Thessalonions 5:17, "Pray continually".

In conclusion, we take The Word in by reading/ hearing the Word, we digest it by meditation, and let it out through prayer. These three steps are vital in reaching our purpose.
These three stepping stones take disclipine and obedience, and we do them out of honour, respect, love, and etc. for who God is and to be obedient to what His Word says.
Being human, I have times when my motives are out of line in my devotional times. My motives can be selfish, and in these times I rebel against disclipine and obedience. The heart changing method for me is, is when I return to disclipine for the right reasons, it also makes my Father happy. Most important, if we fail to have obedience, everything else has little value because it is through obedience we become more like Him as we stay focused in our purpose.

If you question your approach while going into prayer, you can soon learn if you are going into it with a disclipined heart or a legalistic heart. At one point a while ago, I was listening to a fellow defining the difference between having a disclipine heart or a legalistic heart, and to date it has never left me. Today, I ask myself if my heart is right before I approach Him, and if I am doing it for the wrong reason then I ask for a change of heart to go before Him. The following two questions may help you before you go to Him.
Do you approach Him out of love, or selfish gain? The following two statements will clarify the difference in how you are approaching Him, and it will have an impact on the total outcome.

The disclipined heart will say: I will do this because I love God and I want to please HIM.
The legalistic heart will say: I will do this thing to gain merit with God.

Comment by Jesse James on January 19, 2009 at 12:05pm

Dec 8, 2008

*The Picture Frame*

Many times when we have a picture that really means the world to us, we try to find a picture frame to compliment our most treasured moments in time. There are so many types of frames that we can get confused and indecisive as to which one would bring out the beauty that is encased within the picture. There are the rustic frames, oak frames, plastic frames, metal frames and etc., and to purchase one suitable to meet our need can be very trying. Regardless of our efforts, we would never pick a frame that wouldn't compliment our treasured memory. Furthermore, we would be hesitant to place it somewhere to expose it, in order to prevent any comments that would be in contrast to our efforts.

In Isaiah there is a detailed description of a picture frame we would never get drawn to, and we would, more than likely, not expose it in our homes to prevent embarrassment. This picture frame was very much disfigured beyond anyone's imagination, there was no beauty or majestic look to draw us toward it, the appearance would cause many to reject it and despose of the worn out frame, and you could see that this frame experienced a lot of abuse in the humanistic surroundings. The name of this picture frame was called Jesus.
In Isa 53:2-3 "He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised, and we esteemed him not". This picture frame was a creation of God, and was meant to fulfill God's characteristics in the human form.

Jesus, being the Son of God, would appear to have God's genes, and if this is the case then Jesus's physical attributes could give us an idea of how God could possibly look in the physical. However, God the Father is not a man in the human form, but in His awesomeness He is God that possesses all the characteristics that can beautify any picture frame created. To be able to see God, we should be able to see Him in others, and others see Him in us. If for some reason God's picture is not visible inside our frame, then how do we display Him before our peers. However, there is one way for us to try and see Him within ourselves every day, and it is when we go and present ourselves before the mirror.

We have the opportunity to carry a picture of God with us where ever we go, and to show the world that is crying out to see Him. But first, we must do a visual check by looking into the mirror, and if there is difficulty seeing Him, we must spend some time re-framing His picture. The one looking back at you gives you the opportunity to see if God's picture is the centre piece in the frame. The one looking back at you, in that mirror, doubles for who you really are, and if you fail to see any resemblance of God looking back at you, then you know something is preventing you to allow His radiant picture within your frame. If we expect to see physical beauty or some Hollywood symbol looking back at us, then we have no idea of what God's radiating picture is all about. When we look into that mirror, and see a frame without a picture, then we haven't inserted the picture into the frame as we should have.
Jesus is the only living example of what a picture frame is all about. It isn't in the physical appearance, it isn't some intellectual statement, but he was the picture frame that exposed the true picture of who God really is by loving unconditionally. The true picture of God is found in the New Testament, and this is the picture He wants others to see when they look into our eyes, the windows of our souls. First Corinthians 13:4-8 tells us what love looks like—it’s patient, kind, gentle, and so much more. You are like God when you are loving others. Love never fails. Always remember, the greatest thing you could ever have or do is to love. Everything else will fade away, but His love is the picture that will last forever!
“No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression within us” (1 John 4:12, NLT). By having His love brought out in expression, it reveals what we embrace within us. When our peers can see the only living God, the author of Love within us, the frame will take second place as His beauty becomes magnified as it projects beyond the frame. It can be said that in man's perspective Jesus' appearance would be the most horrifying picture frame to possess, but what was encased within Him was exposed through the love, the healings, foregiveness, and etc. Sadly, even in this day and age He is still rejected and despised just like He was in Biblical times. Regardless, His characteristics are just the same today as they were back then. Do you reject him, despise him, or do you accept Him? What part of Jesus attracts you, the physical or the internal where His father's portrait radiates from?
Every time we start a new day, we can start each morning by looking in that mirror, deep into the eyes of the one looking back at us, and the frame won't be as important when God's picture,(LOVE), is in the centre of it. In God's eyes we are members of His Royal Family that only He could create, and being created in the image of God you can be that picture perfect portrait for Him, so that others will be able to see HIM alive and well.
By Jesse James

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