" CHANGE "

Good day to you I trust that all is well with you and
yours. Today I'm wondering just how committed you
are to CHANGE. Those of you who are Baby Boomers
as myself we don't easily subscribe to change. But once
we adhere to an idea we're sold on it until something
else changes our thought pattern. Oh for those of you
who might not be sure, Baby Boomers were born
between the years of 1946 - 1964.


My dictionary defines " Change " as: To make or
become different: Alter (2) To replace with another:
The act, process, or result of changing. How often
do you change your mind, is change good or bad?
God shows his eminent patience with us as well.
I'm from the school of thought that He is giving us
time to abandon living our way and begin living his
way, the way he shows us in his Word. Something
that I always think about is that we're not guaranteed
five minutes from now. Your time may be running
out. Turn to God to forgive your sins. When you are
ready to give up hope on yourself or others, remember
that God can work a complete change in even the most
selfish personality. You can't see the watch that can be
started or stopped at will. The patience of God can be
looked at as a stopwatch, and there is no haggling for
any additional time.

I'm confident that the Father shows us his mercy.
Although we deserve his anger, he is willing to forgive
and restore us to himself. It's vital that you understand
that we can receive God's forgiveness from sin by asking
him. Understand that we can pray that he will forgive
others and use us to bring them the message of his mercy.
Life is full of changes only because God's presence is
always with us for us, stability does not mean lack of change,
but moving with God in every circumstance.

Major changes begin on the inside as God works on our
attitudes, and desires. These inner changes lead to faithful
actions. In the bible Paul reminds us that " For it is God
who is at work in you, both to will and to work for
His good pleasure". Doing God's Will begins with your
desires. Question, are you willing to be humble, to be open
to his opportunities, and to move at his direction? Ask God
to give you the desire to follow him more closely.

Last Point: We must learn to face the source of our
problems moving to escape problems only makes solving
them more difficult. problems rooted in us are not solved by
a change of scenery. A change in location or job may only
distract us from the need for us to change our heart.

Until Next Time...

Jim

" Anxiety / Worry "

Oh it's you, and as always it's wonderful just
knowing that you cared enough to stop by again.
It's before 11 am and the sun is shining brightly.
Today we are discussing " ANXIETY ". So strap in
and let's go.

Carrying your worries, stresses, and daily struggles
by yourself shows that you have not trusted God fully
with your life. Worrying is a waste of time, turn your
worries into prayers, let God's peace guard your heart
against anxiety.

Jesus commands us not to worry: " Don't worry
about anything, but in everything, through
prayer and petition with Thanksgiving,let your
requests be made known to God" (Phil 4:6).
Only faith can free us from the anxiety caused by greed
and covetousness. Ask God to help you focus your mind
on the Father instead of what's causing you distress. To
worry is pointless because it can't fill any of our needs.
To become angry and distressed are two very destructive
emotions. They reveal the absence of faith that God loves
us and is in control. We should not worry; instead, we
should trust in God, giving ourselves to him for his use and
safekeeping. To worry is half-witted because the creator of
the universe loves us and knows what we need. He promises
to meet all our real needs, but not necessarily all our desires.

When you dwell on your problems, you will become anxious
and angry. If you concentrate on God and his goodness, you will
find peace. where do you focus your attention? Lack of trust in
God always prevents us from receiving his best.

Until Next Time...

Jim

" CHOICES "

Good Day To You,

I'm so pleased that you are able to join me this
morning/evening. This weeks message is entitled
" Choices " as this is something that we all in
most countries have the luxury of experiencing.
While some in other countries have never experienced
the freedom that others take for granted, like me.

" Choice " Is defined as worthy of being chosen;
selected with care; The power or opportunity of choosing;
Option. We can live for ourselves or we can live in service
to God the Father. To choose our own way is to travel down
a blind alley, but to choose God's way is to receive eternal
life. " Truly, Truly, I say to you, he who hears my
word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal
life, and does not come into judgment, but has
passed out of death into life (John 5:24). The Christian
life involves both freedom and discipline. Don't be proud of
your Christian development; Make sure your convictions are
based on God's word, and are not simply an expression of your
opinions. God gives us choices, and we sometimes choose
unwisely.

Wrong choices may cause us pain, but they can help us learn
and grow and make sounder choices in the future. Living with
the consequences of our choices teach us to think and choose
more carefully. Listen, I confess that I grew up going to the
School of Hard Knocks. When you are faced with a choice always
choose to obey God.

He is sovereign; He is not arbitrary; in all things he works for
our good; He is trustworthy; He will save all who believes in him;
When we understand these qualities of God, we know that his
choices are good even if we don't understand all his reasons.
Evaluate all that happens from a eternal perspective, and you will
find your values and decisions changing.

Last Point: In this life especially those who don't have a
Christ - Like perspective react to things according to what we know
and how we feel. We make choices as though life were all we have.
In actuality, this life is just the prelude to eternity. How we live this
brief span, however, determines our eternal state. News Flash, what
we accumulate on earth has no value in purchasing eternal life. One
way to evaluate your spiritual maturity is by looking at the choices we
make. Even the highest social or civic honors cannot earn us entrance
into heaven.

Until Next Time...

Jim

" GOD'S WILL "

How are you on this fine day that our Lord has made, are
you consulting the Father before you act. Know matter what
it's vital that you learn just how important it is to seek the
face of the Lord before moving on anything.

Why is it that even those of us who know the Lord Jesus
Christ as our personal Savior we still wish to act before
praying? It's human nature to make our own plans and then
request that the Lord bless them. Instead we should seek
God's Will first. By constantly thinking about the Lord and
his way of living, we will gain understanding that will lead
us to make right decisions and live the way our Lord desires.
Staying in contact with God allows him to counsel us and
give us wisdom. Please understand this, what ever we choose
to do we can without the Lord's intervention.

God does not usually stop us from making choices that are
against his Will. He allows us to declare our supposed
independence from him, even though he knows that in time
we will become slaves to our own rebellious choices - we
will lose our freedom not to sin. The reason that it takes
most of us sometime before we invite the Lord into our
hearts is that we're held captive to sin. Does life without
God look appealing to you? Look more closely, there is
no worse slavery than slavery to sin.

When we pray " Your Will Be Done, " we are not
resigning ourselves to fate, but praying that God's perfect
purpose will be accomplished in this world as well as the
next. The emphasis here is on God's will, not our will.
When we communicate with God, we don't demand what
we want we discuss with him what he wants from us. Now,
if we align our prayers to his will, he will listen, and we
can be certain that if he listens, he will give us a definite
answer. START PRAYING WITH CONFIDENCE!

Please understand we are to pray in line with God's
Will. There's no guarantee that we can get anything we
want simply by asking Jesus and believing. God does not
grant requests that would hurt us or that would violate his
own nature or Will. Jesus' statement is not a blank check
to be filled, our request must be in harmony with the principles
of God's kingdom. The stronger our belief, the more likely
our prayers will be in line with God's Will and then God
will be happy to grant them.

Until Next Time,

Jim