" ACCOUNTABILITY "

This week we will be looking into " ACCOUNTABILITY. " It's important that we understand God's thoughts on it. Accountability: 1- Being Accountable; Answerable; Responsible 2- Explicable. We are accountable for many of our problems. Do you remember the account of the Angel Of The Lord who appeared to Gideon? Now, Gideon questioned God about the problems he and his nation faced and about God's apparent lack of help. OK, what he didn't acknowledge was the fact that the people had brought calamity upon themselves when they decided to disobey and neglect God. How easy it is to overlook personal accountability and blame our problems on God and others. Unfortunately this does not solve our problems. It brings us no closer to God, and it escorts us to the very edge of rebellion and backsliding. Now, when problems come, the first place to look is within. Our first action should be confession to God of sins that may have created our problems. It's vital that you are aware that we all are accountable to the Lord Jesus Christ not others. While the church must be uncompromising in its stand against activities that are expressly forbidden by Scripture (adultery, homosexuality, murder, theft), it should not create additional rules and regulations and give them equal standing with God's law. Many times Christians base their Moral Judgments on opinion, personal dislikes, or cultural bias rather than on the Word Of God. When they do this, they show that their own faith is weak - they do not think that God is powerful enough to guide his children. When we Stand Before God's Court Of Justice ( " Judgment Seat " ), We won't be worried about what our Christian Neighbor has done. 2 Corinthians 5:10 " For we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the Body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." Until Next Time... Jim,

WHY I SHOULD NOT " COVET "

If we're all honest for a moment, we must confess to the fact that at some point in our lives we wanted what wasn't ours. Now, to Covet is to wish to have the possessions of others. It goes beyond simply admiring someone else's possessions or thinking, " I'd like to have one of those. " Coveting includes Envy - Resenting the fact that others have what you don't. God knows, however, that possessions never make anyone happy for long. Since only God Can Supply all our Needs, True Contentment is found only in Him. When you begin to Covet, try to determine if a more basic need is leading you to envy. For example, you may Covet someone's success, not because you want to take it away from him, but because you would like to feel as appreciated by others as he is. If this is the case, pray that God will help you deal with your resentment and meet your basic needs. The Word Of God speaks out against those who planned evil deeds at night and rose at dawn to do them. Now, a person's thoughts and plans reflect his or her character. As Paul was we should learn to be satisfied with whatever we have, as long as we can do God's work. Examine your attitudes toward wealth and comfort. Now, if you focus more on what you don't have than on what you do have, its time to reexamine your priorities and put God's work back in first place. Until Next Time... Jim,

" UNBELIEF AND IT'S CONSEQUENCES "

Good Day to you, it is my prayer that all is well in your home. If you would like me to pray about anything for you just ask and we can discuss it. Prayer and Belief go hand and hand. One may ask why is God angry at sinful people? Because they have substituted the truth about him with some kind of fantasy of their own imagination. They have stifled the truth God naturally reveals to all people in order to believe anything that supports their own self-centered life-styles. God cannot tolerate sin because his nature is Morally Perfect. He cannot ignore or condone such willful rebellion. God wants to remove the sin and restore the sinner - and he is able to, as long as the sinner does not stubbornly distort or reject the truth. But his anger erupts against those who persist in sinning make sure you are not pursuing a fantasy rather than the true God. Don't suppress the truth about him merely to protect your own life-style. OK, some often wonder how could a loving God send anyone to Hell, especially someone who has never heard about Jesus Christ? In fact, says Paul, God has revealed himself plainly in the creation to all people. And yet people reject even his basic knowledge of God. Also, everyone has an inner sense of what God requires, but they choose not to live up to it. Put another way, people's moral standards are always better than their behavior. If people suppress God's truth in order to live their own way, they have no excuse. They know the truth, and they will have to endure the consequences. LAST POINT: But first I would like to propose a question for you: How could intelligent people turn to idolatry? Now, Idolatry begins when people reject what they know about God. Knowing that God exist is not enough. People must learn that God is Loving. They must understand what he did to demonstrate His Love for us. They must be shown how to accept God's Forgiveness of their sins. Until Next Time... Jim,

" WHY RECONCILIATION "

A Short but a very powerful message this week, there must be room in our hearts for Reconciliation. Reconciliation means Reestablishing Relationships. Christ has reconciled us to God and to others. Many barriers come between People - Race, Social Status, Sex, Personality Differences - but Christ can break down these barriers. Jesus Christ can transform our most hopeless relationships into deep and loving friendships. God is Holy, and He will not be associated with sin. All people are sinful and so they are separated from God. In addition, all sin deserves punishment. Instead of punishing us with the death we deserve, however, took our sins upon himself and took our punishment by dying on the Cross. Now we can " exult in God." Through Faith In Christ's work, we become close to God (Reconciled) rather than being enemies and outcasts. LAST POINT: We should be receptive to those who seek Reconciliation, to make peace with us. When God's influence in our lives attracts people - even enemies - we must take the opportunity to reach out to them with God's Love. Until Next Time... Jim,

" WAITING ON GOD "

Well here we are again, another week has come and gone and I'm so pleased that you decided to stop by. I'm of the mind that some of us are not schooled in the art of waiting. Benefits of waiting on God is something that we all should be open to. Waiting for God to help us is not easy, but David received four benefits from Waiting: (1) God lifted him out of his despair, (2) Set his feet on a rock, (3) Gave him a firm place to stand, and (4) Put a new song of Praise in his mouth. Often blessings cannot be received unless we go through the trial of Waiting. When ever you think that it's to hard to wait, think about Noah in the Ark. Occasionally he would send a bird out to test the earth and see if it was dry. But take note that Noah didn't get out of the Ark until God told him to. He was waiting for God's timing. God knew that even though the water was gone, the earth was not dry enough for Noah and his family to venture out. Can we agree of the patience Noah showed, especially after spending an entire year inside his boat! We, like Noah, must trust God to give us patience during those difficult times when we must Wait. WAITING FOR GOD IS NOT EASY. Often it seems that he isn't answering our prayers or doesn't understand the urgency of our situation. Now, that kind of thinking implies that God is not in control or is not fair. But God is worth WAITING for. Lamentations 3:24-26 calls us to hope in and wait for the Lord because often God uses WAITING to Refresh, Renew, and Teach Us. Make good use of your Waiting Times by discovering what God may be trying to teach you in them. LAST POINT: You know that sometimes our plans - even the ones we think God has approved - have to be put on hold indefinitely. We can choose to learn and grow in our present circumstances, whatever they must be. Until Next Time... Jim,

" SHARING "

Good Afternoon All, I wanted to share a word or two with you on the subject of " Sharing." It's truly sad that we don't share automatically from birth. Now the early Church was able to share possessions and property as a result of the unity brought by the Holy Spirit working in and through the believers lives. This way of living is different from communism because (1) The Sharing was voluntary; (2) It didn't involve all private property, but only as much as was needed; (3) It was not a membership requirement in order to be a part of the church. The spiritual unity and generosity of these early believers attracted others to them. This organizational structure is not a Biblical command, but it offers vital principles for us to follow. Do you remember the parable of the Lost Son? " The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me my SHARE of the estate that falls to me', so he divided his wealth between them. " OK listen to this: the younger son's share of the estate would have been one-third, with the older son receiving two-thirds (Deuteronomy 21:17). In most cases he would have received this act his Father's death, although fathers sometimes chose to divide up their inheritance early and retire from managing their estates. What is unusual here is that the younger one initiated the division of the estate. This showed arrogant disregard for his Fathers' authority as head of the family. LAST POINT: Another type of SHARING , Paul says, " Filling Up What Is Lacking In Christ's Afflictions, " he does not mean that Christ's suffering was inadequate to save him, nor does he mean that there is a predetermined amount of suffering that must be paid by all Believers, Paul, could be saying that suffering is unavoidable in bringing the Good News Of Christ to the World. It is called Christs' suffering, because all Christians are related to Christ. When we suffer, Christ feels it with us. But this suffering can be endured joyfully because it changes lives and brings people into God's Kingdom. Until Next Time... Jim,

" HONORING PARENTS "

" Honor your Father and your Mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. " This is the first commandment with a promise attached. To live in peace for generations in the Promised Land, the Israelite's would need to respect authority and build strong families. But what does it mean to " Honor " your parents? Party, it means speaking well of them and politely to them. It also means acting in a way that shows them courtesy and respect ( but not to obey them if this means disobedience to God). It means following their teaching and example of putting God first. Parents have a special place in God's sight. Even those who find it difficult to get along with their parents are still commanded to honor them. There is a difference between obeying and honoring, to obey means to do as one is told; to Honor means Respect and Love. Children are not asked to be subservient to domineering parents. Children are to obey while under their parents' care, but the responsibility to honor parents is for life. " The eye that mocks a father And scorns a mother, The ravens of the valley will pick it out, And the young eagles will eat it" (Proverbs 30:17). Children must be handled with care. They need firm discipline administered in love. Don't alienate them by nagging, or deriding, or destroying their self respect so that they lose heart. Parents should care gently for their children, even if the children are disobedient and unpleasant. Ideally, of course, Christian Parents and Christian Children will relate to each other with Thoughtfulness and Love. This will happen if both Parents and Children put the others' interests above their own-that is, if they submit to one another. Until Next Time... Jim,