" PROBLEM "

Blessings to you all,

Please keep me in your prayers as I am having serious problems with my laptop, I have to type fast. I've made three attempts to send you this weeks message and the laptop continues to shut down. The screen says "Sync. out of range" and locks. I'm losing whatever has been written, and I'm frustrated, so I'll be off line until the Lord provides.

Jim

" SPIRITUALLY DEAD "

Blessings to you all this fine day in the Lord, this is what I attempted to share last week. I'm from the school of thought that the Lord God is in total control. He's continuously whispering in my ear... " Don't worry, I've got this." The last seven days have been a Roller Coaster of emotions, laptop mishaps, and many Prayer Request from others.

Isn't it wonderful to be Spiritually Alive in Christ ? There's nothing like feasting on the Word of God any time we wish or even feel the need. The Bible has been known to give much comfort in times of need to all who puts there trust in it.



Have you experienced the feeling one gets when in total alignment with the Word of God, and we know that the Lord of Lords is well pleased. Can you also imagine the Lord God being melancholy, as to say in Ezekiel 22:30 " I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found one. Could you be this person? The wall spoken of here is NOT made of stones , but of faithful people united in our efforts to resist evil. As I stare out of the Window, when I read the News Paper or turn on the Evening News pray for this world. In Ezekiel's day the wall then and now is in extreme disrepair because there was no one who could lead the people back to God. The faint attempts to repair the gap - through religious rituals or messages based on opinion rather than God's Will - were as counter productive as, white wash, only covering over the real problems. When we give the illusion of loving God without living his way, we are covering up sins that could eventually damage us beyond repair. We must repair our lives by applying the Principles Of God's Word. Then you can join others to stand " In The Gap " and make a difference for God in the world.

Ezekiel mourned for those who were Spiritually Dead. All people are individually responsible to God, but believers have a special responsibility to warn unbelievers of the consequences of rejecting God. if we fail to do this God will hold us responsible for what happens to them. This should motivate us to begin sharing our FAITH WITH OTHERS. - By both WORD and DEED - and to avoid becoming callous or unconcerned in our attitude.

Until Next Time...

Jim

Job's Reaction

Good day to you all. It seems that I have another thing on my mind that's been a real challenge for me. You do realize that it's hard work to walk after Christ and pattern your life after the King of Kings and Lord of Lords? Friends, and may I call you friend, considering that we have been sharing some very personal and vital information to life. Living the life of a follower of Christ is fulfilling and yet rewarding in all ways. I challenge you to take a fresh look at some or all of our heroes in the faith who are much like you and me. I pray that I will be ready when the Father needs me, and that my mind will be right.

Those of you who have shared with me in the past, know that I'm truly impressed with the life of Job. Let's be honest with each other, would God have said, HAVE YOU CONSIDERED MY SERVANT ________? ( I like to put my name into the blank)

Last week the keyword was "blameless". I'm still wondering if this quality fits me and I believe that we all must answer this one for ourselves. What would your reaction be if you worked real hard spiritually to be the person that God wanted you to be? To be wealthy and an upstanding citizen in your community, then calamity hits. Now whats your reaction?

Saints we must understand that God is all wise and all-powerful. His will is perfect, yet He doesn't always act in ways that we understand. Although God is present everywhere at times He may seem far away. This may cause us to feel alone and to doubt his care for us. We should serve God for who He is, not what we feel. He is never insensitive to our suffering. Because God is sufficient, we must hold on to Him. The State that I live in declared me disabled in 1989 and what a blow to my family that was. As a "Born Again Christian", husband, father and provider my family would only trust God. My reaction was to trust God, no if / and / or / but, I was blessed with a wife of twenty years at this juncture in my life who was a Proverbs 31 mate.

Job knew that everything that happened to him was permitted by God for His purposes. When we are out of God's will, Satan doesn't need permission to attack us. But when we are walking in obedience and victory, we know that God has power and is protecting and refining us during the tough times. Satan can't lay a finger on us unless God allows it.

Job didn't blame God for his calamities, and he didn't acknowledge Satan's involvement at all. How many times in your life have you blamed God for your misfortune's? Many people think that believing in God protects them from trouble, so when calamity comes, they question God's goodness and justice. But the message of Job is that you should not give up on God because He allows you to have bad experiences. Faith in God does not guarantee personal prosperity, and lack of faith does not guarantee troubles in this life. If this were so, people would believe in God simply for monetary reasons. Our Father is capable of rescuing us from suffering, but He may also allow suffering to come for reasons we cannot understand. Friends at this time in our Christian walk we should be able to realize that the strategy of Satan is to get us to doubt God at exactly this moment. Here Job shows a perspective broader than seeking his own personal comfort. Consider this if we always knew why we were suffering, our faith would have no room to grow.

Job 2:6 So the Lord said to Satan, " Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life." Again Satan had to seek permission from God to inflict pain upon Job. God limits Satan, and in this case, He did not allow Satan to destroy Job.

Until next week

Jim

"Walk Before Me, And Be Blameless"

Well here we are together again, and it's my desire to let you know just how much I truly appreciate your weekly visit and comments. I am humbled as well as inspired that we can grow in the Lord together. Thank you so much for listening.

Have you ever been challenged by God Almighty? Did you hear my question... I'm very sorry but, I didn't hear your response. Early Saturday morning, about 4 A.M. I was having my personal time with the Lord and I was studying in Genesis. I could not step away from Gen. 17:1 "Now when Abram was ninety - nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; WALK BEFORE ME, AND BE BLAMELESS".

I started thinking about the word "Blameless" : Guiltless, Clear (Innocence), Faultless, not guilty even inculpable. OK, let's be real, what was that thought that just ran through your mind? I started to examine my own conscience and I fear that I come up short. How do I walk before God blamelessly? I know that this challenge given to Abram is also for us today. We must obey the Lord in every regard because He is God - and that is reason enough for us to obey my colleagues in Christ. We have to be deliberate about the things of God in order to walk before God blamelessly. Now, God is patient with us, He's proven that. He gives us many chances to heed His message, to turn from sin, and to believe Him. Last week I was reminded that one thousand years is like one day to the Lord. His patience does not mean that He is indifferent to how we live, nor does it mean we can continue to ignore His warnings. His patience should make us want to become blameless before Him now.

Another man who God was satisfied with was Noah. In Gen. 6:8-9 "But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. (9) These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God". My colleagues in Christ, has anyone ever said any thing like this about you. Have you ever wondered what people think about you, the Bible describes some of our hero's in the faith. Noah's faithfulness and obedience and Abraham spoke to the Lord and promised to obey and also be faithful. I can list many other believers in the faith who were known by their spiritual reputations.

Noah pleased God, although he was far from perfect. We can follow Noah's example and find "Favor in the eyes of the Lord" in spite of the sin that surrounds us. To say that Noah was righteous and blameless does not mean that he never sinned (the Bible records one of his sins starting at Gen. 9:20). Rather it means that he wholeheartedly loved and obeyed God. Like Noah we live in a world filled with evil. Are we influencing others or being influenced by them?

My colleagues in Christ, to be sinless and perfect ("blameless") will be the ultimate condition of the believer when he or she finally sees Christ face to face. When Christ appears, and we are given our new bodies, we will be like Christ (1 John 3:2). Coming into Christ's presence will be more wonderful than we can ever imagine!

We too are in the last days, much closer to the end than were the original followers of Christ. 2 Peter 3:14 "Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless." We should not become slothful and contented because Christ has not yet returned. Instead, we should live in eager expectation of his coming .What would you like to be doing when Christ returns? That is how you should be living each day.

" WHY DID JESUS STOOP DOWN ?"

Today I was reminded of a conversation that I had with a very good friend two weeks past regarding the Sin of Lust. It seems that every time we pick-up a newspaper, magazine, view t.v. or a movie we see an attractive person. While driving down the street billboards get our attention and yes even when we get to work attractive people are close up and personal. My friend wears a rubber band on his wrist to remind himself to avert his eyes... and turn away. My question to you is: what do you do when you're faced with LUSTING after another ?

Have you ever considered John 8:6 "But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground". Throughout the years I was always focused on what Jesus may have written in the dust. I have heard many sermons and the thoughts of many on the quandary of what Jesus wrote on the ground.

Today I wish to explore another avenue of thought. John 8:4 "They said to Him, "teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act". I have to wonder how well she was covered up at this point as the Jewish leaders, the Scribes and pharisees dragged her through the streets and into the temple. These officials were always looking for ways to test and accuse Jesus of breaking the law. The Pharisees, who had classified over 600 laws, often tried to distinguish the more important from the less important. "ADULTERY" The unfaithfulness of someone to his or her marriage vows. Expressly forbidden by the seventh Commandment and by Jesus.

Now Jesus was in the temple again and the people sought him out to learn from the master. At this time the Jewish leadership felt that they were losing ground as Jesus was gaining in popularity with the masses. Jesus was about the "Father's Business". He had just sat down to His day of teaching. I'm sure that there must have been a reverberation of taunts as they dragged and pulled this adulterous woman to Jesus. The Old Testament Law said that it is wrong for a person to have sex with someone other than his or her spouse. Matt 5:28 "Everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." EVERYONE MEANS THAT NO ONE is exempt.

I'm reminded of a story that I read in 2 Samuel, in fact I wish to highlight 2 Samuel 11:1-24 regarding David and Bathsheba. David's personal life became enmeshed with impure thoughts. He committed adultery with a married woman, Bathsheba and then he ordered her husband killed in an unsuccessful attempt to cover-up their sin. David was full of regret and sought God's forgiveness. We may be forgiven by God for sins, but we will often experience harsh, consequences.

We are warned in Scripture "DO NOT LOVE THE WORLD" 1 John 2:16 "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world".

Now getting back to my original thought, why did Jesus STOOP DOWN? I'm from the school of thought that He didn't want to gaze upon a half clothed woman. Can you imagine all the situations that Jesus had to deal with simultaneously. Jesus was the teacher, and even at a time such as this He showed us how to avert our eyes. JESUS STOOPED DOWN AND WROTE IN THE DIRT.

Until next time.

Jim

"TESTING, TESTING, TESTING"

Good Morning to you all,

I was reflecting on all those who I came in contact with this past week and I thought to myself what character trait or habit should I take from one or more of these individual(s). Before I go any further you should know that I pray with a number of Godly men weekly whom I consider "Elders" in the church. We are just men of God who are striving to be the "Strongman" in our homes. We are acutely aware of the spiritual warfare that we all are entrenched in.

How many times have you heard someone say that "they will pray about it" or "I prayed about it" or even " I've heard from God"? I believe that we must be "HOT" or "COLD" for the things of God so that there's no confusion. We are told to seek after the things of God, but do we really? We talk a good game don't we? But how often do we truly put God to the test? I'm reminded of the verse in Malachi were we've been challenged to TEST God (Mal 3:10). "Testing The Spirit". This past Saturday morning I was at prayer with some men who believe that "Prayer Changes Things" and I got truly blessed again as I watched my friend David pull golden nuggets out of the Word of God. My brother in Christ never takes anything for granted and I'm reminded of (1 John 4:1) " Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world". Word of caution to you all: We shouldn't believe everything we hear just because someone says it is a message inspired by God. My friend David always has his Bible available, and he tests the words of all to see if their words are truly from God. I myself watch from the Peanut Gallery to see who will stay the course, and who will continue to grow in the Lord.

" TEST" (v) Try (1) A challenge or difficult situation imposed by God for the purpose of strengthening faith; not to be confused with temptation to evil (James 1:13) . (2) The act of putting God to the test, demanding that He prove Himself and His power in some way, as Satan attempted to persuade Jesus to do. (3) The act of one person's challenging another to prove himself by answering difficult questions, etc.

In Matthew 4:6 and said to Him, "If you are the son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, 'He will command His angels concerning you'; and 'On Their Hands They Will Bear You Up, So that you will not strike your foot against a stone; " You see the devil used scripture to try to convince Jesus to sin! Sometimes friends or associates will present attractive and convincing reasons why you should try something you know is wrong. They may even find Bible verses that seem to support their viewpoint. I was taught that we should study the whole chapter in order to truly know what the writer was trying to convey. Only if we really understand what the WHOLE BIBLE says will we be able to recognize errors of interpretation when people take verses out of context and twist them to say what they want them to say.

TESTING, TESTING, TESTING...
Let's not just take anything for granted anymore, in Psalms 91:11 Satan misquotes scripture (Matt 4:6).

Until Next Time,
Jim