" ENVY / JEALOUSY "

We are going to look into Envy / Jealousy once again. As we all may need another dose of what God's thoughts are pertaining to Jealousy / Envy. Now, Jealousy can be difficult to recognize because our reasons for it seem to make sense. But left unchecked, jealousy grows quickly and leads to serious sins. The longer you cultivate jealous feelings, the harder it is to uproot them. The time to deal with jealously is when you notice yourself keeping score of what others have. Have you ever envied some one whom God has apparently singled out for Special Blessing? Now a sure cure for jealousy is to rejoice with those people, realizing that God uses his people in ways best suited to his purpose. Now, to covet is to desire another person's prosperity. We are not to set our desires on anything that belongs to someone else. Not only can such desires make us miserable, they can also lead us to other sins such as Stealing and a big one Adultery. Envying others is a non-productive usage of our time because God is able to provide everything we truly need, even if he does not always give us everything we want. Now to stop coveting, we need to practice being content with what we have. The Apostle Paul emphasizes the significance of contentment in Philippians 4:11. It is a matter of perspective. Instead of thinking about what we don't have, we should thank God for what he has given and strive to be content. After all, our most important possession is free and available to everyone - eternal through Christ. LAST POINT: When we are blinded by envy and hatred, it is almost impossible to see our own sin. Until Next Time... Jim,

" TODAY'S BATTLE "

Welcome to you and come on in and sit awhile, this week we will be looking into the subject of " Battle. " Now, I'm of the belief that we must fight for our lives and the lives of our loved ones. If you have ever read the Word Of God, sometimes our Fight / Battle is to the death. We have to be of the mindset that the enemy is trying to Kill /Destroy us. You must inquire of God and he will tell us exactly how to defeat our enemy. When we inquire of God, I'm confident that we will hear something like this. " Do Not Fear Or Be Dismayed ... For The Battle Is Not Yours But God's. " Now, we may not fight an enemy army everyday but we battle temptation, pressure, and " Rules...of this darkness " (Ephesians 6:12) who want us to rebel against God. Remember, as believers, we have God's Spirit in us. If we ask for god's help when we face struggles, God will fight for us. And God always triumphs. HOW DO WE LET GOD FIGHT FOR US? (1) By realizing the battle is not ours, but God's; (2) By recognizing human limitations and allowing God's strength to work through our fears and weaknesses; (3) by making sure we are pursuing God's interests and not just our own selfish desires; (4) by asking God for help in our daily battles.

" DO YOU BELIEVE? "

Here we are again, another week has crept up upon us and that's a good thing. Have you truly asked yourself what you truly believe in? I am a Believer in Jesus Christ and I walk in Faith. Believing for every thing and that all things are possible in Jesus Christ. " BELIEVERS " Faithful ones in the New Testament, those who have placed their complete faith and trust in Christ for Salvation, realizing that they are unable to meet God's standards of righteousness by their own efforts. " And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that he is a rewarder of those who seek Him. " Believing that God exists is only the beginning; even the demons believe that much (James 2:19-20). God will not settle for mere acknowledgement of his existence. He wants a personal, and dynamic relationship with you that will transform your life. Those who seek God will find that they are rewarded with his Intimate Presence. " And all things you ask in Prayer, BELIEVING, You Will Receive. " Now this verse is not a guarantee that we get anything we want simply by asking Jesus and believing. God does not grant requests that would hurt us or others or that would violate his own nature or Will. Jesus' statement is not a blank check. To be fulfilled, our requests 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. Last Point: To " Believe " is more than intellectual agreement that Jesus is God. It means to put our trust and confidence in him that he alone can save us. It is to put Christ in charge of our present plans and eternal destiny. Believing is both trusting his word as reliable, and relying on him for the power to change. If you have never trusted Christ, let this promise of everlasting life be yours - and believe. Until Next Time... Jim,

" QUESTION(S) "

This week we are looking into questions' Question: 1- To ask questions 2- Doubt, Dispute 3- To subject to analysis: Examine (Syn) Interrogate, Quiz, Query - Questioner. A most important question... Think back to the Gospels, those of you who have read them anyway. When Jesus was being challenged by the Pharisees, Herodians, and Sadducees who were asking questions, and always attempting to trap him. But Jesus turned the tables and asked them a penetrating but yet a thought provoking question - who they thought Christ, The Messiah was. The Pharisees knew that the Messiah would be a descendant of David, but they did not understand that he would be God Himself. Jesus quoted from Psalm 110:1 to show that The Messiah would be greater than David (Hebrews 1:13 uses the same text as proof of Christ's Deity). The most important question we will ever answer is what we believe about Christ. Other theological questions are irrelevant until we believe that Jesus is who he said he is. Sometimes we ask God questions and then receive no answer. This may be because God is saying No. We may have asked for knowledge beyond our ability to understand or accept. Those of you who know me well hear me speak of Job often. There are some true nuggets in the Book Of Job that just leap off the pages. JOB knew that his redeemer lived. Now, we all have read of the inquisition of Job by his three friends so to speak. Now Job was up to bat stating that his suffering would be more bearable if only he knew why it was it was happening. If there was sin for which he could repent, he would! He knew about the wicked and the fact that they would be punished; he also know God could vindicate him if so chose. In all his examples of the wicked in the world, his overriding desire was for God to clear his name, prove his righteousness, and explain why he was chosen to receive all this calamity. Job tried to make his friends see that questions about God, Life, and Justice are not as simple as they assumed. Until Next Time... Jim,

" THE HARM OF LUSTING "

In today's world there is nothing that we can take for granted, in other words Leave To Chance. It seems to me everywhere we turn it's violence and or some type of self gratification that is in the news. I for one have a broken heart when ever I turn on the news, my ears bleed so to speak and then it makes me weep. This weeks topic is Lust, as the weather gets warmer it seems that our mind-set turns into this direction. " BUT I SAY TO YOU THAT EVERYONE WHO LOOKS AT A WOMAN WITH LUST FOR HER HAS ALREADY COMMITTED ADULTERY WITH HER IN HIS HEART "(Matt. 5:28). Now old testament law said that it is wrong for a person to have sex with someone other than his or her Spouse (Exodus 20:14). But Jesus said that the desire to have sex with someone other than your Spouse is Mental Adultery and thus Sin. Jesus emphasized that if the act is wrong, then so is the intention. To be Faithful to your Spouse with your Body but not your Mind is to break the Trust so vital to a Strong Marriage. Jesus is not condemning Natural Interest in the opposite sex or even healthy sexual desire, but the deliberate and repeated filling of one's mind with fantasies that would be evil if acted out. Now, some are of the school of thought that if Lustful thoughts are sin, why shouldn't a person go ahead and do the lustful actions too? Acting out sinful desires is harmful in several ways: (1) It causes people to excuse sin rather than to just stop sinning; (2) It destroys marriages; (3) It is deliberate rebellion against God's Word; (4) It always hurts someone in addition to the sinner. Sinful Actions is more dangerous than sinful desire, and that is why desires should not be acted out. Nevertheless, Sinful Desire is just as damaging to righteousness. Left unchecked, Wrong Desires will result in Wrong Actions and turn people away from God. Until Next Time... Jim,