" SPIRITUAL GROWTH "

Well here we are again another week is upon us and I'm so pleased to be with you again. This weeks message we will be sharing about the Father's take regarding our Spiritual Growth. Let's be very clear about the path that we will travel this week.
Spiritual maturity is not about how much we do in the church, nor is it about how much scripture one can memorize. Hopefully we all can and will grow from our time together this week.

I'm blown away by how scripture compares our spiritual life to trees. The tree's trunk is the channel of strength from God; and the branches are the people who serve in the vineyard. Now if we're not where we should be in Christ we are dead wood. Dead wood is only good for starting fires in our fireplaces and campsites. Tree branches sometimes waver and blow in the wind. When something drys up from rot it dies, as we also will die if we don't renew our minds daily in the Word of God. What kind of branch are you? If you are deteriorating in your spiritual growth, it's time that you wake up and do what ever it takes to come alive. We are told " above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life".

The road to spiritual growth means that we must totally trust God and His word. His word must speak to us all on a personal level, and then we must be willing to obey. You know living the Christian life demands all of our endurance, and it's truly worthwhile. I've been a warrior for Christ for many years and I know that the Christian life is a constant battle. We must always be on guard and our conduct must be consistent with our Savior. We should use our God-given abilities to equip believers for service in the army of God. As we develop in our spiritual growth we become aware that troubles are not always caused by sin or a lack of faith. Testings may be part of God's plan for believers. Remember that life's trials, whether allowed by God or sent by God, can be the means for development and refinement. I once read that when we're facing trials, ask, " WHAT CAN I LEARN AND HOW CAN I GROW?" Rather than " WHO DID THIS TO ME AND HOW CAN I GET OUT OF IT?"

Truth untested by life's experiences may become inert and motionlessness. Suffering can bring an energetic quality to life. Suffering can drive us beyond superficial acceptance of truth to dependence on God for hope and life. Jesus is the vine, and God is the gardener. People who won't bear fruit for God or who try to block
the efforts of God's followers will be cut off from his life-giving power. It's time that we start acting like mature Christians and start attracting people to Christ. In our spiritual growth we will experience difficulties that help us to truly become the servants that God needs us to be. God will use life's difficulties and Satan's attacks to build our character. Listen if you're like the rest of us, you probably find your patience tested in some way every day. Thank the Lord for opportunities to grow, and deal with them in his strength. We must bend and stretch, but most importantly we must aspire to reach Heaven. Now endeavor to persevere.

Until Next Time...

Jim

" A GOOD NAME ''

Good Afternoon To You,

All I'm asking for is just a moment of your time this week. As most of you know I wait to get a word from the Lord on each weeks topic. I still get amazed each week as to how many people write to me
about getting blessed. I sincerely appreciate you all and it's my blessing sharing with you, week in and week out.

" A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold" (Prov. 22:1).
Have you ever wondered what others truly think of you? Do you have the kind of reputation that others respect and admire? Can you wrap your brain around God telling us that a good name is more desirable than GREAT RICHES? Please take as much time as you need in order to truthfully understand what the Word of God is beckoning to us.

We all want good things to be said of us, and some may utter words like I don't care what people say or think of me. But I personally believe that they do care very much. I would also imagine in there alone time other people's opinions frequent their minds. Since we're being honest we all want to be well-thought-of in life, now don't we.

We are taught from the very beginning in our education that 1+1=2; and 5+5=10 and of course ten is more than one. In this life most of us strive to collect as many dollars as we can. What we hold dear the Lord may not, so it's very important that we're on the same page as the Lord. The Bible shares in multiple scripture verses about the value of a good name. Proverbs 10:7 says " The memory of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot". Either you're one or the other, we all know how distasteful indifference can be to our Lord. I'm struck by Proverbs 22:1 where it says: to be esteemed is better than silver and gold. At this moment in time gold is selling at $1115.8 and silver $16.11. Listen we all must be intentional about having a good name.

I believe that our offspring will be welcomed into certain circles just on the weight our name Carry's. Another verse says " A good name is better than a good ointment ". Now an ointment is a salve for use on the skin. It would appear that as the Lord suggest a good name means more than almost anything we value. I believe that when the Lord says anything it's important, and even more so when the same thing is repeated multiple times.

SO ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT A GOOD NAME IS MORE DESIRABLE THAN GREAT RICHES.

Until next time...

Jim

" DO NOT OMIT A WORD "

Good day to you all, it's my prayer that all is well with you and yours. This weeks message is regarding the subject of misquoting scripture. I'm of the mind set that we must be on guard of every idle word that passes through our lips. Raise your hand if you're one of God's Saints who truly uses the Word of God as a sword. In the bible we're taught that we are to fight sin with the Word
of God. So it's vital that we memorize correctly the Word of God.

Take a moment and reach back into the inner-most recesses of your mind and try to recall the times that you've misquoted the Word of God. I understand that most of our habits, good and bad are involuntary. Please understand how important it is for us not to misquote the Bible. Hopefully you don't intentionally alter the Holy Scripture's to fit your every whim, I know that some do. Some folks will do or say whatever it takes to make their point. We have been warned in the Bible that we
are not to distort it's message. We must handle the bible with care and great respect so that we don't change it's message, even unintentionally.

Don't ignore the parts that make you uncomfortable, we must never ignore or repress important parts of God's Word to please anyone. We should endeavor to represent the Word of God in it's pure, loving, satisfying, and life giving state. God's Word is complete, and how arrogant is it of mankind to think that it's OK to change the Word of God. How could any human being with obviously limited wisdom and knowledge, edit God's perfect words? We should rapidly apply it's principles into our own lives. Are you hearing me, remember that we are not to altar the Word of God for our personal benefit. If and when we do that amounts to a willful and a callous disregard for God's commands. We should not mold God's message to fit our personal preferences. God is our protector and he will carry us through all the challenges, dangers and fears of this life. I was just sharing yesterday with a friend on how we should be able to translate our fears into trust. Isn't it comforting to know that god watches over us even in times of great stress and fear. Just when we might feel that it's necessary to distort or change the Word of God in order to strike fear in another, don't.

Please recognize that Jesus was tempted and was able to resist all of the devil's temptations because he not only knew scripture, but he also obeyed it. Saints, God's Word is a sword to use in spiritual combat. Knowing bible verses is an important step in helping us resist the devil's attacks, but we must also obey the Word of God. Note, satan is a fallen angel and has memorized scripture, but he has failed to obey it. Knowing and obeying the bible helps us follow God's desires rather than the devil's. Always remember that we are never to add nor subtract from the Word of God.

Until next Time...

Jim

" FORGETTING INFRACTIONS "

Good Day To You All,

Here we are again another Groundhog Day is upon us 2010 and it appears that Winter-like weather is inclined to stick around. Is it just me or does it seem like time this year is flying? Have you this year already had someone commit some type of transgression against you, and if so have you forgiven them. And if so are you working on forgetting this infraction?

I'm mindful of words from a song that suggest that we're the one's who keep reminding the Lord of our past sins. Our God tells us that we are to forgive infractions against us " Seventy Times Seven," meaning that we shouldn't even keep track of how many times we forgive someone. We should always forgive those who are truly repentant, no matter how many times they ask.

God says that he will remember our sins no more. If God tells us that all things are possible, and if we're truly putting effort into the things of God. Then I believe that we can also forget our transgressions and those committed against us. Christ forgives completely, so there is no need to confess our past sins repeatedly. As believers, we can be confident that the sins we confess and renounce are forgiven and forgotten. My dictionary defines " Forgetting ": To be unable to think of or recall; to fail to become mindful of at the proper time. A line in that song states that " Know matter what I've done, you still keep loving me".

We must not forget that the bulk of our troubles can be traced back to us being out of God's Will. In some cases we must accept the fact that we may have brought on our problems upon ourselves. Often our troubles result from our own disobedience or lack of faith. We cannot blame God for our sins. Until we face this reality, we will have little peace and no spiritual growth.

Temptation is Satan's beckon for us to give in to his kind of life and give up on God's kind of life. Satan's enticing word's to Eve succeeded in getting her to sin. Ever since then, he's been busy getting people to sin. He even tempted Jesus; But Jesus did not sin! By following these guidelines we can also resist temptation. By first realizing that being tempted is not sin. Please grasp this fact, that we have not sinned until we give into the temptation. Now, we must (1) Remember with the Holy Spirit's power, we can resist the devil, and he will flee from us. (2) sprint away (3) while saying no when confronted with what we know is wrong. James 1:12 shares with us of the blessings and rewards for those who don't give in when tempted. The serpent, Satan, tempted Eve by getting her to doubt God's goodness. He implied that God was strict, stingy, and selfish for not wanting Eve to share his knowledge of good and evil. Satan made Eve forget all that God has given her and, instead, focus on the one thing she couldn't have. We fall into trouble too, when we dwell on the few things we don't have rather than the countless things God has given us. Remember if you believe that all things are possible with God, then we can forgive and forget.

Until Next Time...

Jim