" SHIFTING THE BLAME "

How often have you blamed another for a situation in your life? Try this, just for the day really try to pay very close attention to what you say. What I'm getting at is for you to make it your business to count the times that you blame another person or thing in your everyday speech. Excusing sin by blaming others for it never works out for us in the long run. In my past I have done that, and it started when I was under the age of seven. Even now I have to fight the urge to make an excuse or think of Shifting Blame. Now I can think of how a cascade of events can happen when I / we don't own our bad behavior, or when we don't trust God. Now in the Word Of God we are told of the accounting of Sarai and Hagar. Sarai gave Hagar to Abram as a substitute wife, a common practice of that time. A married woman who could not have children was shamed by her peers and was often required to give a female servant to her husband in order to produce heirs. The children born to the servant woman were considered the children of the wife. Abram was acting in line with the custom of the day, but his action showed a Lack of Faith that God would Fulfill His Promise. Now regarding Shifting The Blame. Sarai took matters into her own hands by giving Hagar to Abram. Like Abram she had trouble believing God's promise that was apparently directed specifically toward Abram and Sarai. Out of his lack of faith came a series of problems. This invariably happens when we take over for God, trying to make his promise come true through efforts that are not in line with his specific directions. In this case, time was the greatest test of Abram and Sarai's willingness to let God work in their lives. Sometimes we too must simply wait. When we ask God for something and have to wait, it is a temptation to take matters into our own hands and interfere with God's plans. Lastly, why is it that we seem to always want to shift blame elsewhere. We complain about our adverse circumstances when we have only ourselves to blame. Why is it that we often try to avoid guilt feelings by once again shifting the blame. This in reality will not solve the problem. We looked at problems last week, when you face problems, look first at yourself. If you changed your attitude or behavior would the problem be solved? It's time for us to to be accountable for our own actions, have a great day in the Lord.

" PROBLEMS "

Just as fire refines silver in the smelting process, trials, refine our character. They bring us a new and deeper wisdom, helping us discern truth from falsehood and giving us the discipline to do what we know is right. Above all, these trials help us realize that life is a gift from God to be cherished, not a right to be taken for granted. Question: Are you just using God to escape your Problems... Too often we expect God to help us in our time of trouble even though we have ignored him in our time of prosperity. But God wants a lasting relationship. Are you trying to build a lasting friendship with God, or are you merely using occasionally to escape trouble? What would you think of your family or friends if they thought of you only as a temporary resource? Many believers find that when they determine to follow God they immediately encounter great obstacles. The next time you face such a test, don't try to second-guess what God is doing. Use the intelligence God gave you as Abram did when he temporarily moved to Egypt, and wait for new opportunities. Until Next Time... Jim,

" CHANGE "

Welcome, Come on in and stay awhile, this week we will be looking into " Change." We're taught in the Bible that Prayer can Change Things... But when You Pray Believe. God was ready to destroy the whole nation because of their sin. But Moses pleaded for mercy and God spared them (His Chosen People) " The Hebrew Nation." This is one of the countless examples in the Bible of God's Mercy. Although we deserve his Anger, He is willing to Forgive and Restore us to Himself. We can receive God's forgiveness from sin by asking him. Like Moses, we can pray that he Will forgive others and use us to bring them the message of his mercy. God patiently waits for us to change then the Lord said, " My spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years." " HIS DAYS SHALL BE ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY YEARS " Means that God was allowing the people of Noah's day 120 years to change their sinful ways. God shows his great patience with us as well. He is giving us time to quit living our way and begin living his way, the way he shows us in his Word. While 120 years seems like a long time, eventually the time ran out and out and floodwaters swept across the earth. Your time also maybe running out. Turn to God to forgive your sins. You can't see the Stopwatch of God's patience, and there is no bargaining for additional time. Is your faith motivated by a desire for a new, changed life, or is it only like a vacation or insurance policy against possible disaster? Until Next Time... Jim,

" CONVERSATION(S) "

This week we are looking into " Conversation(s) " so please strap in and let's see what we can discover. What our words reveal about us. Our contradictory speech often puzzles us. At times our words are right and pleasing to God, but at other times they are violent and destructive. Which of these speech patterns reflect our true identity? The tongue gives us a picture of our basic human nature. We are made in God's image, but we have fallen into sin. God works to change us from the inside out. When the Holy Spirit purifies a heart, He gives self-control so that the person will speak words that please God. On various occasions in the old testament, God chose to communicate audibly with individuals. God will always find a way to make contact with those who want to know him. Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:8-13); Noah (Genesis 6:13-22;7:1; Genesis 8:15-17). * Abraham (Genesis 12:1-9 & Genesis 22:1-4). * Jacob (Genesis 46: 1-4). *Moses (Exodus 3:1-10; Exodus 19:1; Exodus 20:20). *Moses, Aaron & Miriam (Numbers 12:1-5). *Joshua (Joshua 1:1-9) *Samuel (1 Samuel 3:1-18). *Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1-13). *Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:4-10). *Ezekiel (Ezekiel 2: 1-8). What Motivates Our Speech... When our speech is motivated by Satan: It is full of: Jealousy; Selfish Ambition:Earthly Concerns and Desires; Unspiritual thoughts and ideas; Disorder; Evil. GOD AND HIS WISDOM: Mercy; Love For Others; Peace; Consideration For Others; Submission; Sincerity; Impartially; and Righteousness. Damage the tongue can do, James takes a moment to make certain that we were aware of the harm that something so small but yet sharp can do. Now Jesus compares the damage the tongue can do to a raging fire, the tongue's wickedness has it's source in hell itself. The uncontrolled tongue can do terrible damage. Satan uses the tongue to divide people and pit them against one another. Idle and hateful words are damaging because they spread destruction quickly and no one can stop the results once they are spoken. We must be mindful not to be careless with what we say, thinking we can apologize later, because even if we do, the scars remain. A few words spoken in anger can destroy a relationship that took years to build. Before you speak remember that words are like fire - you can neither control nor reverse the damage they can do. Never forget that I am a Prayer Resource for you. Until Next Time... Jim,