Looking back over my life and reflecting on the relationship I have with my mother; I think of the various stages of growing up. As a baby missing her presence and comfort, I remember the joy and excitement I felt hearing her coming in from work. As I grew older I continued to desire her comforting voice, but I began to expect and welcome her instructions, insights and even discipline (shh don’t tell her). But then I became a teenager, I thought I knew it all; and began to rebel and withdrawing, wanting to do my own thing. I just knew I was mature and didn’t need her advice or help in life, so we slowly started drifting apart. Now as an adult, I look back at my teenage years, and how foolish I was to ever think I was too mature to need her. I get sad over all the time wasted, and all the nuggets of wisdom I’ve missed. Thankfully I was able to go back, admit my foolishness and ask for her forgiveness.
As believer’s we go through this same stage of development when it comes to our relationship with God. As babes in Christ we look to God for His presence, and comfort from all the hurt we’ve experienced at the hands of the world. As we grow we still desire the Lord’s presence and comfort, but our we begin to desire more. So we begin to seek God’s instructions, insights and learn to accept His godly discipline that keeps us from going astray. Sadly, after spending what we consider a “lengthy time” of walking with God, we hit our spiritual “teenage” years, we become mature Christians. We begin thinking we have this walk down to a science; and we no longer need God as “often” as we did. We stop reading, praying or seeking God. Without realizing we begin drifting away. It isn’t until later on in our years, when we look back and see the foolishness of our ways. Thankfully we can repent, and return to developing that deep intimacy with God, who is lovingly ready to restore our fellowship with Him
God’s voice is vital to the life, growth and development of each believer; without it we would be lost. Oftentimes we find ourselves in the position when we can’t discern if God is speaking. We wonder if it’s Him, the enemy or our flesh. We even wonder if God has stopped speaking, but we must remember he has already spoken through His Word, and He continually speaks through His Holy Spirit that is indwelled with in us. The issues rest with us, we either get so busy that we don’t take time to use the tools he has given us to hear from Him, or we get to a “good space” believing we don’t have a need to hear from HIM. Unlike our natural lives, we CAN bypass the rebellion associated with the stage of being a “spiritual teenager” or becoming to mature to need God. We can choose to stay connected to God and continuously intake all that he imparts to us. We must resolve to daily to utilize the tools He has given in order to discern and appreciate His voice. Read His Word daily; it’s his written word that provides instructions on how to navigate through this Christian life. Constantly remain in prayer; it’s his spoken word that gives direction and teaches us how to apply what he has revealed. Cultivating consistent communication with God will enhance your ability to know when He is speaking; so when life becomes overwhelming and you need direction, guidance or comfort; you will undoubtedly be able to hear, know and follow the voice of your heavenly father.
Above all else, we must Value the Voice of God, because it was the Voice of God that spoke all things into existence. It is because of His voice we live, move and have our being. It is because of the Voice of God, that we are here today, in His sanctuary worshipping Him. Value and honor the voice of God, for at the end of life His voice will be the only one that matters; for when he calls us home to be with him we will all long to hear sweet words of rest “Well done thy good and faithful servant”.
God Bless
Minister Tamara L. Jones
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Up from the Dust (Psalm 119:25-28)
Oooweee life has a way of depressing, stressing and distressing even the most faithful and grounded children of God. Life and circumstances has a way in which we find ourselves going from the highest high, down to the lowest lows. Don’t believe me? Let us look at the psalmist. He went from declaring that the Lord’s testimonies were his delight and counselors, to saying his soul clings to the dust. In a blink of an eye, he went from being delighted in the Lord, to clingy; being downright attached to the dust in heaviness. Sound familiar? Like the psalmist things occur in our lives that have us up one minute and downright depressed the next. As down as the psalmist seems, he does give us insight as to how we can be restored from this current negative state.
25 My soul clings to the dust; revive me according to your word.
When we are down in the dumps, we must learn to cry out onto the Lord and ask Him to revive us with His Word. When we begin to pray & speak the word of God over ourselves, and situations; it begins to move us from our state of despondency to one of uplifting and encouragement.
The Word of God is the very tool that all believers need and should utilize in overcoming every & anything. Well you might say I don’t really know how to say what I’m feeling or needing, so how can I tell God.
Well no need to worry for the Holy Spirit residing within you knows how to make intercession on your behalf. Romans 8:26 says likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us[b] with groanings which cannot be uttered.
26 I have declared my ways, and you answered me; teach me your statutes.
After crying out, we must be willing, determined and receptive to learn and adjust our lives to the will and ways of God. When we learn to make God’s way’s and statues our standards, we will be able to stand against the lies and attacks of enemy, and the misconceptions of the world and what it teaches.
Finally after crying out to The Lord, adjusting our lives to the will and ways of God we must then learn to meditate on the very things God reveals to us in His Word. 27 Make me understand the way of your precepts; so shall I meditate on your wonderful works. 28 My soul melts from heaviness; strengthen me according to your word. The key to being revived is to not meditate on the negativity surrounding you, but meditate on the wonderful ways and works of God. For the works of the Lord are immeasurable and His grace is sufficient to sustain us in any situation. God doesn’t desire you to cling to the dust in desperation, But He does desire you to cling to HIM in Love, Trust and Obedience.
Be Blessed
Min. T. Jones
25 My soul clings to the dust; revive me according to your word.
When we are down in the dumps, we must learn to cry out onto the Lord and ask Him to revive us with His Word. When we begin to pray & speak the word of God over ourselves, and situations; it begins to move us from our state of despondency to one of uplifting and encouragement.
The Word of God is the very tool that all believers need and should utilize in overcoming every & anything. Well you might say I don’t really know how to say what I’m feeling or needing, so how can I tell God.
Well no need to worry for the Holy Spirit residing within you knows how to make intercession on your behalf. Romans 8:26 says likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us[b] with groanings which cannot be uttered.
26 I have declared my ways, and you answered me; teach me your statutes.
After crying out, we must be willing, determined and receptive to learn and adjust our lives to the will and ways of God. When we learn to make God’s way’s and statues our standards, we will be able to stand against the lies and attacks of enemy, and the misconceptions of the world and what it teaches.
Finally after crying out to The Lord, adjusting our lives to the will and ways of God we must then learn to meditate on the very things God reveals to us in His Word. 27 Make me understand the way of your precepts; so shall I meditate on your wonderful works. 28 My soul melts from heaviness; strengthen me according to your word. The key to being revived is to not meditate on the negativity surrounding you, but meditate on the wonderful ways and works of God. For the works of the Lord are immeasurable and His grace is sufficient to sustain us in any situation. God doesn’t desire you to cling to the dust in desperation, But He does desire you to cling to HIM in Love, Trust and Obedience.
Be Blessed
Min. T. Jones
Monday, May 17, 2010
Forgiveness
Forgiveness is one of the most misunderstood and misused principles of everyday living. Society has taught us to use forgiveness as a tool of retaliation and hostage taking, instead of being used as a tool of healing and restoration.
What is forgiveness? Forgiveness is the willing act of excusing a mistake or offense. That means although the other party may be guilty of committing something harmful or hurtful towards you, you make a conscious effort to free them of the guilt and “penalty” of that offense. Often times we are unable to excuse others, because of the pain attached to the offense. But true forgiveness calls for us to “pardon” the offender. Not that the offense is excusable, as all issues must be dealt with in a godly manner, but you don’t hold ill feelings towards the person that committed the act.
Holding on to unforgiveness creates more problems, issues and hurt than we realize. First it keeps the offended person hostage emotionally. People carrying unforgiveness, become weighted down with the pain, distrust and separation that unforgiveness comes with. Secondly, if we are not careful it begins to seep into other areas of our lives, and we begin to mistreat those, who have done no wrong. It also holds the offender hostage, because we tend to try and make the wrongdoer “earn our forgiveness” with a checklist of; if you do this or that, then maybe I will forgive you. Thirdly, it creates a hindrance in our personal relationship with God, and our ability to worship him freely. Unforgiveness is a tool used by the enemy to keep us in disharmony with one another and with God.
There are 2 important factors to remember about forgiveness:
First, it is not based on your emotional ability to let go, but your ability to follow what God has given you the ability to do. You are commanded and able to forgive, completely release the pain, frustration and wrongdoer form the negativity associated with the offense and live in harmony with them. *SR Matthew 18:20-22.
Secondly, remember that just as someone is in need of forgiveness for hurting you, you too at one point have been and will be in need of forgiveness from someone else. We all, whether intentionally or mistakenly have caused pain to another, and must go to them desiring forgiveness and reconciliation with them.
My brothers and sisters, the next time you are hurt and it seems like you are unable to forgive or pardon your offender, ask the Lord to help you to live out his commandment to forgive, despite your emotional rationale, and give thanks to HIM for the times he has and will forgive you!
Be Blessed
What is forgiveness? Forgiveness is the willing act of excusing a mistake or offense. That means although the other party may be guilty of committing something harmful or hurtful towards you, you make a conscious effort to free them of the guilt and “penalty” of that offense. Often times we are unable to excuse others, because of the pain attached to the offense. But true forgiveness calls for us to “pardon” the offender. Not that the offense is excusable, as all issues must be dealt with in a godly manner, but you don’t hold ill feelings towards the person that committed the act.
Holding on to unforgiveness creates more problems, issues and hurt than we realize. First it keeps the offended person hostage emotionally. People carrying unforgiveness, become weighted down with the pain, distrust and separation that unforgiveness comes with. Secondly, if we are not careful it begins to seep into other areas of our lives, and we begin to mistreat those, who have done no wrong. It also holds the offender hostage, because we tend to try and make the wrongdoer “earn our forgiveness” with a checklist of; if you do this or that, then maybe I will forgive you. Thirdly, it creates a hindrance in our personal relationship with God, and our ability to worship him freely. Unforgiveness is a tool used by the enemy to keep us in disharmony with one another and with God.
There are 2 important factors to remember about forgiveness:
First, it is not based on your emotional ability to let go, but your ability to follow what God has given you the ability to do. You are commanded and able to forgive, completely release the pain, frustration and wrongdoer form the negativity associated with the offense and live in harmony with them. *SR Matthew 18:20-22.
Secondly, remember that just as someone is in need of forgiveness for hurting you, you too at one point have been and will be in need of forgiveness from someone else. We all, whether intentionally or mistakenly have caused pain to another, and must go to them desiring forgiveness and reconciliation with them.
My brothers and sisters, the next time you are hurt and it seems like you are unable to forgive or pardon your offender, ask the Lord to help you to live out his commandment to forgive, despite your emotional rationale, and give thanks to HIM for the times he has and will forgive you!
Be Blessed
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Trusting in God!!!
Proverbs 3:5 (New King James Version)
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding.
As adults when we think of the word Trust and how it relates to our relationships, our minds automatically consider a few things. 1.) What has the other person has done to earn our trust. 2.) What are the benefits in me trusting them.
We all have the ability to say or do something that causes hurt to another person, as well experience situations that are hurtful and damaging to us. These situations leave us cynical, battered, defensive and has severed our ability to trust in man.
When these situations arise, it is absolutely essential that we pray and ask God to heal us from these wounds, to guard our hearts from becoming hard against those who have hurt us, from becoming hard against those who haven't hurt us, and even from becoming hard against HIM. The Word of God admonishes us Matthew 5:44 to "But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
When learning to Trust in God, it is important that we do not allow the trust issues that we face with one another taint our view on who GOD is, and why he is deserving of our trust, and why we can't live without trusting in him. We cannot afford to allow the enemy to use our earthly situations and outcomes as reasons to distrust in God.
Let's look at the above questions, and answer them with God in view.
1.) What has the other person has done to earn our trust.
We must know that God doesn't have to earn our trust.
God is the sovereign ruler of the world and his love for us is unconditional. First of all God created us in his own image, he gave us life! Second while we were yet enemies of God he sent HIS Only Son, Jesus the Christ, to die for our sins, to give us eternal life, and to reconcile us back into a relationship with God . So again God doesn't have to do anything to earn our trust, for he has proven to us from the beginning of time his intention and love for us.
2.) What are the benefits in me trusting HIM?
There are so many benefits in trusting in God, the creator of the universe! There are so many ways, reason and examples but I will sum it up as this because:
God has promised in his Word to meet all our needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19) When we see this scripture many people automatically think of finances, but the scripture does not say God will meet only our financial needs, but all of our needs. That means all of our physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and financial needs. We can Trust In God because the earth is the Lords and the fullness thereof!! Because the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless (Psalms 84:11).
Trusting in God requires a lot of work on your part. It is more than saying you trust Him, when things are well, it means that when you are faced with perilous times and circumstances you look to him for answers.
Trusting God requires action!! Constant reading and meditating on His Word..Constant prayer and communication with HIM. It will require you to speak the Word of God over yourself, taking action against demonic attacks, and thoughts that come against your spirits desire to trust in God.
Trusting in God ultimately means that we completely trust God with all that is in us, our heart, mind, spirit, and soul. That we don't rely on anything that we can do in our own strength, and that we give all of the strength we possess, both physically and mentally, to the will of the Holy Spirit. In doing this, God can fulfill his perfect will through us and bring glory to himself. We must not seek our own gain, but only desire for GOD to receive all the glory. We get to enjoy what GOD does for himself.
To lean not on our own understanding means we are not seeking to figure the problem out logically. This is not ours to do. If GOD is truly the center of our lives, we live for him and him alone. Do we really believe that he lives? Then we should also believe that we can trust him with all our hearts.Trusting HIM means not moving ahead of HIM, not staying far behind HIM, not standing still when he says to move, and not moving when he says to stand still. The result is the blessing of GOD falling on the obedient vessel, the vessel that was used to fulfill GOD’S perfect will.
Be Blessed!!
Min. T
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding.
As adults when we think of the word Trust and how it relates to our relationships, our minds automatically consider a few things. 1.) What has the other person has done to earn our trust. 2.) What are the benefits in me trusting them.
We all have the ability to say or do something that causes hurt to another person, as well experience situations that are hurtful and damaging to us. These situations leave us cynical, battered, defensive and has severed our ability to trust in man.
When these situations arise, it is absolutely essential that we pray and ask God to heal us from these wounds, to guard our hearts from becoming hard against those who have hurt us, from becoming hard against those who haven't hurt us, and even from becoming hard against HIM. The Word of God admonishes us Matthew 5:44 to "But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
When learning to Trust in God, it is important that we do not allow the trust issues that we face with one another taint our view on who GOD is, and why he is deserving of our trust, and why we can't live without trusting in him. We cannot afford to allow the enemy to use our earthly situations and outcomes as reasons to distrust in God.
Let's look at the above questions, and answer them with God in view.
1.) What has the other person has done to earn our trust.
We must know that God doesn't have to earn our trust.
God is the sovereign ruler of the world and his love for us is unconditional. First of all God created us in his own image, he gave us life! Second while we were yet enemies of God he sent HIS Only Son, Jesus the Christ, to die for our sins, to give us eternal life, and to reconcile us back into a relationship with God . So again God doesn't have to do anything to earn our trust, for he has proven to us from the beginning of time his intention and love for us.
2.) What are the benefits in me trusting HIM?
There are so many benefits in trusting in God, the creator of the universe! There are so many ways, reason and examples but I will sum it up as this because:
God has promised in his Word to meet all our needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19) When we see this scripture many people automatically think of finances, but the scripture does not say God will meet only our financial needs, but all of our needs. That means all of our physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and financial needs. We can Trust In God because the earth is the Lords and the fullness thereof!! Because the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless (Psalms 84:11).
Trusting in God requires a lot of work on your part. It is more than saying you trust Him, when things are well, it means that when you are faced with perilous times and circumstances you look to him for answers.
Trusting God requires action!! Constant reading and meditating on His Word..Constant prayer and communication with HIM. It will require you to speak the Word of God over yourself, taking action against demonic attacks, and thoughts that come against your spirits desire to trust in God.
Trusting in God ultimately means that we completely trust God with all that is in us, our heart, mind, spirit, and soul. That we don't rely on anything that we can do in our own strength, and that we give all of the strength we possess, both physically and mentally, to the will of the Holy Spirit. In doing this, God can fulfill his perfect will through us and bring glory to himself. We must not seek our own gain, but only desire for GOD to receive all the glory. We get to enjoy what GOD does for himself.
To lean not on our own understanding means we are not seeking to figure the problem out logically. This is not ours to do. If GOD is truly the center of our lives, we live for him and him alone. Do we really believe that he lives? Then we should also believe that we can trust him with all our hearts.Trusting HIM means not moving ahead of HIM, not staying far behind HIM, not standing still when he says to move, and not moving when he says to stand still. The result is the blessing of GOD falling on the obedient vessel, the vessel that was used to fulfill GOD’S perfect will.
Be Blessed!!
Min. T
Friday, February 6, 2009
The Dangers of False Comfort
Everyone on the face of the earth,at some point in life, has a time where they set certain goals, dreams and aspirations. Whether they are personal, family oriented, work or even ministry. Things we have deep desires for, and set out with great passion to complete. We hit the ground running, starting off great with high hopes and enthusiasm. We are organized, disciplined and determined. We plan every aspect of what we feel we need to be successful in this area of our life..Then seemingly out of nowhere we apply the breaks.. We come to a screeching halt and find ourselves stuck in a rut, unsure of how to proceed, wondering how we got so far off the beaten path.. We think back to what could have possibly happened that has caused us to be so far of course from our destination.
We think of all of the possible culprits; distractions, doubts and fears and say surely it must have been on of these three things, that has veered us of course. Most often this is correct, but there is one culprit we always seem to leave out: THE STATE OF COMFORT!!
During our journey to accomplish our various goals, dreams and aspirations, we get comfortable. Comfortable in our status, comfortable in our thinking, comfortable in our pursuits.
We get so focused on the end result we envisioned, that we lose focus on the work that it must take to get there. We allow what we have already accomplished in these areas to give us a false sense of "arrival", which causes us to stop pursuing these things prematurely. By the time we realize that we haven't actually arrived to the end of our goal, we have lost precious time, resources and discouragement begins to settle in.
But don't lose hope.. we can get back on track.
First admit that you have allowed your own vision and will, to take precedence over the vision and will of God.
Ask God for forgiveness, wisdom and strength to stay the course, as he fulfills his purposes and goals in your life according to HIS Will.
Leave your past mistakes and failures where they belong; in the past!!!
Move forward with Confidence in who God is, who you are in him, and what he has called you to do.
Lastly do spiritual checkpoints with God, to make sure you are not going ahead of him, nor lagging behind him..
Be Blessed
We think of all of the possible culprits; distractions, doubts and fears and say surely it must have been on of these three things, that has veered us of course. Most often this is correct, but there is one culprit we always seem to leave out: THE STATE OF COMFORT!!
During our journey to accomplish our various goals, dreams and aspirations, we get comfortable. Comfortable in our status, comfortable in our thinking, comfortable in our pursuits.
We get so focused on the end result we envisioned, that we lose focus on the work that it must take to get there. We allow what we have already accomplished in these areas to give us a false sense of "arrival", which causes us to stop pursuing these things prematurely. By the time we realize that we haven't actually arrived to the end of our goal, we have lost precious time, resources and discouragement begins to settle in.
But don't lose hope.. we can get back on track.
First admit that you have allowed your own vision and will, to take precedence over the vision and will of God.
Ask God for forgiveness, wisdom and strength to stay the course, as he fulfills his purposes and goals in your life according to HIS Will.
Leave your past mistakes and failures where they belong; in the past!!!
Move forward with Confidence in who God is, who you are in him, and what he has called you to do.
Lastly do spiritual checkpoints with God, to make sure you are not going ahead of him, nor lagging behind him..
Be Blessed
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
A Politically Correct Christian????
I was recently reflecting on the story of Peter and marveled at how closely he walked with Jesus. At how personal and strong his relationship with the Savior was, how much he dedicated his life to serving him. Yet when a situation arose that would seemingly put his back against the wall and test Peter’s loyalty to the Savior, he would fail miserably!!
I know often times we don’t consider or even begin to imagine ourselves going through such situations. I have heard many people, including myself, say I would never deny Christ, not after all he has done for me. But do we really understand what we are saying? Do we even realize the subtle tests that we go through to prove that very declaration of loyalty? We may not have a Peter denying experience, but we are faced with tests of loyalty everyday, especially around this time of year!!!
Recently I had such a situation arise at work, a test that would call to light my loyalty to My Savior. It was winding down to the end of our day, everyone was in a festive spirit, singing Christmas songs, sharing past holiday family stories and just enjoying each others company. When everyone began saying happy holidays. One by one people went down the lines, coming out of their cubicles wishing a happy holiday, when the “wishing line” finally arrived at me and I wished everyone a Merry Christmas!! Well you would’ve thought I had walked into the room with a shotgun and killed someone.
The office fell eerily silent, then all at once everyone started shouting you can’t say that at work, it is no longer politically correct to wish everyone Merry Christmas, because everyone doesn’t believe in Christ. They all continued in their beratement of my statement, and demanded I say Happy Holidays.
On and on they went about respecting everyone’s believes. As I sat their and listened I thought, how ironic is it that they are telling me I have to respect the believes of others, yet in order to do so I had to deny my own!!! Right then I was faced with well, what do I do? Do I retract my statement or stick to my belief if and still wish everyone a Merry Christmas? I looked at the same people who an hour early were so enthusiastic about all of their Christmas plans, shopping, festivities, who were using the Christmas holiday as a reason to come to work late and leave early, as a reason to be off on the 25th, now tell me I had no right to say Merry Christmas.
It was then that I realized I was having my own test of loyalty. As I sat their and thought, I realized that although I like my co-workers, and I like my job, none of them or it died on a cross for me. The higher-ups that have decided to try and change the meaning of Christmas by commercializing it could never change me from the old-wretched sinner I once was, destined for hell, into a believer of the Most High God destined for an eternal life with My Father!!!
So I rolled back out of my cubicle and declared, I am not here to be politically correct, I am not here to satisfy everyone else’s beliefs, just as I don’t’ condemn anyone for not sharing the same beliefs as I. But I believe what I believe and will not be bullied into anything else. I shared with those that would listen, that Jesus Christ is the reason for this holiday and for everything, and that without him I would be nothing.
I shared that even though society has removed, prayer from the schools, removed Christian programming from television, restricted where we can and cannot read our bibles, they can never remove him from my heart and lips!
Then I rolled back to my desk and wished that everyone would have a VERY MERRY, BLESED AND SAFE CHRISTMAS!!!!
I say to all of my Christian brothers and sisters, don’t allow anyone to force you into a “politically correct mentality” just because society deems it safer that way. Stand for our Lord and Savior this CHRISTmas!!! For unto us a child was born, born with the purpose of dying, for you and I. Who was tortured, buried, crucified and risen, and is now sitting at the right hand of GOD!!!!
Be Blessed and have a MERRY CHRISTmas!!!!
Min. T
I know often times we don’t consider or even begin to imagine ourselves going through such situations. I have heard many people, including myself, say I would never deny Christ, not after all he has done for me. But do we really understand what we are saying? Do we even realize the subtle tests that we go through to prove that very declaration of loyalty? We may not have a Peter denying experience, but we are faced with tests of loyalty everyday, especially around this time of year!!!
Recently I had such a situation arise at work, a test that would call to light my loyalty to My Savior. It was winding down to the end of our day, everyone was in a festive spirit, singing Christmas songs, sharing past holiday family stories and just enjoying each others company. When everyone began saying happy holidays. One by one people went down the lines, coming out of their cubicles wishing a happy holiday, when the “wishing line” finally arrived at me and I wished everyone a Merry Christmas!! Well you would’ve thought I had walked into the room with a shotgun and killed someone.
The office fell eerily silent, then all at once everyone started shouting you can’t say that at work, it is no longer politically correct to wish everyone Merry Christmas, because everyone doesn’t believe in Christ. They all continued in their beratement of my statement, and demanded I say Happy Holidays.
On and on they went about respecting everyone’s believes. As I sat their and listened I thought, how ironic is it that they are telling me I have to respect the believes of others, yet in order to do so I had to deny my own!!! Right then I was faced with well, what do I do? Do I retract my statement or stick to my belief if and still wish everyone a Merry Christmas? I looked at the same people who an hour early were so enthusiastic about all of their Christmas plans, shopping, festivities, who were using the Christmas holiday as a reason to come to work late and leave early, as a reason to be off on the 25th, now tell me I had no right to say Merry Christmas.
It was then that I realized I was having my own test of loyalty. As I sat their and thought, I realized that although I like my co-workers, and I like my job, none of them or it died on a cross for me. The higher-ups that have decided to try and change the meaning of Christmas by commercializing it could never change me from the old-wretched sinner I once was, destined for hell, into a believer of the Most High God destined for an eternal life with My Father!!!
So I rolled back out of my cubicle and declared, I am not here to be politically correct, I am not here to satisfy everyone else’s beliefs, just as I don’t’ condemn anyone for not sharing the same beliefs as I. But I believe what I believe and will not be bullied into anything else. I shared with those that would listen, that Jesus Christ is the reason for this holiday and for everything, and that without him I would be nothing.
I shared that even though society has removed, prayer from the schools, removed Christian programming from television, restricted where we can and cannot read our bibles, they can never remove him from my heart and lips!
Then I rolled back to my desk and wished that everyone would have a VERY MERRY, BLESED AND SAFE CHRISTMAS!!!!
I say to all of my Christian brothers and sisters, don’t allow anyone to force you into a “politically correct mentality” just because society deems it safer that way. Stand for our Lord and Savior this CHRISTmas!!! For unto us a child was born, born with the purpose of dying, for you and I. Who was tortured, buried, crucified and risen, and is now sitting at the right hand of GOD!!!!
Be Blessed and have a MERRY CHRISTmas!!!!
Min. T
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
The Battles of the Righteous!!!
As Christians living in a negatively consuming society, faced with many trials, temptations and situations, we all tend to use different scriptures as “spiritual mantras” that help us get through. One such scripture is James 5:16 (the latter portion). Confess your trespasses[a] to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much..
Believers hold tight to this one line of scripture as we thank and praise God for healing, deliverance, stability, love and patience. It gives us the hope to hold on in trying times, and comfort in times of despair, knowing that if we are faithful, obedient and perseverant, that our all sufficient, kind and loving God will hear our prayers, and come to our rescue.
Recently I’ve found myself holding tight to this, as I struggle through various battles in my life, waiting and looking for relief from the frustration, confusion and pain of these battles. Wondering when My Father would rescue me. Then during my recent private time with the Lord, I presented him with the question; Lord I’ve been faithful and obedient, and your words say the effective and fervent prayer of the righteous man avails much, but it seems like the more I’m faithful and obedient, the less victory seems at hand, and the more battles I am faced with. Why, Lord, Why?
As I stayed there and waited, and cried, and prayed and cried some more; The Lord whispered ever so softly to me: Because the Battles of the Righteous Availeth much!!!!
Initially I was baffled, shocked and confused all at the same time, because in my natural mind, this just did not make any sense to me!! But as the day progressed and I asked the Lord to help me understand, He did just that.
He helped me to understand that he uses our various battles, whether with self, the enemy or others, to prune and mold us into what he has designed and desires for us. It’s through these situations that he has our total attention, and can mold and shape our character, increase our strengths, develop our integrity, tear down our weaknesses, change our focus, and give us humbleness of spirit!!!
While we should continually be grateful and praise God for the victory and change that occurs because of, and through our prayers; we should equally be grateful and praise HIM for the victory and change that occurs through our battles..
Be Blessed..
Romans 5:1-4 (New King James Version)
1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have[a] peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope.
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