Christian Fellowship

It’s really sad to say, but Christians can really be mean to each other! We are quick to point out faults. We are quick to talk about each other, We are quick to rip each other apart. We are quick to throw them under the bus, We call each other names and yet we gossip and envy one another. It is not a pretty picture, yet Jesus says when we love each other, the world will know that we belong to Him.…

Dear Readers,

Before you begin to read this article, I needed to let you know, I have been pondering a lot on this question that has been on my mind. Plus it was the results of many people I have encounter in real life and encounter in a irc chat room that many posed this question to me. This article was researched and prayed about to write something like this for you to read.

This had a profound effect on me as of late and has caused me to dig deeper into the question asked in a paragraph below. First of all I take no credit for all that was written here, most of these comments posted are from many well know men around the world.

Many are Pastors, Teachers, Scholars and Authors of well written commentaries. Bottom line too many to list here but the main credit goes to the Holy Spirit for using me to seek and to find many of the topics discussed here, much that was written by these men and me included.

This is in a way a combining the efforts from all these people and the credit is shared by all of them, following God to speak about what they encounter in asking the same question. Were all of one mind and in one accord here. So I needed to say this before we got started. The real intent and hopes of writing this here was to help share some insights and help you in a way to understand and address the questions were going to talk about.

Before we get into the article of asking a life long question of asking why does God allow bad things to happen we have to understand one very important fact.

A harsh reality of life is that it can sometimes be deeply painful. Too often, we encounter stories of loss, sickness, abuse, death and tragedy. And, our own lives are scarred by experiences we wish had never happened. In all this sadness and pain it is right that we should ask “Why does God let bad things happen to good people?”

There are two ways to look at this question. First of all, technically speaking there are no good people. The Bible says in Romans 3:12, “All have turned aside. Together they have become useless. There is none who does good. There is not even one.”

The reason there are none who are good is because God alone is truly good. Luke 18:19 says, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.” God is the standard of righteousness, and all of us have fallen short of that standard (Rom. 3:23). Therefore, there really aren’t any good people and bad things to happen to them. So the question we deal with all the time from many we encounter are.

Q. If God is in control of everything, why do bad things happen to us? I’d like to believe in God, but I just can’t understand this.

A. I’ve been asked hundreds of times why God allows evil to take place, and I have to tell you honestly that I do not know the answer—not fully, believe me I have tried to answer it. The Bible talks about “the mystery of iniquity” (2 Thessalonians 2:7, KJV)—and that’s what evil is: a mystery.

On the other hand, from a human perspective there are decent people who are very nice. They are honest, don’t lie, don’t steal, and treat people very well. So, though they aren’t perfect, they are trying to do what’s right. So why would God allow bad things to happen to them? The easiest answer lies in the effect of sin.

Sin is in the world and it affects everyone to different degrees. Because of this sin it brought about evil into the world. But let me tell you three very important truths about evil that might help you.

First, the Bible tells us that evil does not come from God, nor can we blame God for all the evils in the world. Evil comes instead from Satan, and it entered this world when Satan deceived Adam and Eve and caused them to turn against God. Both evil and Satan are real, and the two go hand-in-hand.

Second, the Bible tells us that someday all evil will be banished. The vast spiritual conflict between Satan and God that has raged from the beginning of time will be over, and God will be triumphant. Someday all evil will be cast “into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41).

Third, the Bible tells us that in the meantime, God can give us victory over evil. This doesn’t mean bad things will never happen to us—but even when they do, we can know God is with us, and He will give us strength to stand against them.

Isn’t it better to face life’s problems with God rather than without Him? No, we may not understand everything that happens to us—but when we know Christ, we know we are on the winning side.

So If evil came from Lucifer Who became Satan, why did God create him?

“Why did God create Lucifer who later became Satan knowing ahead of time he was going to rebel?” This question is a little trickier because we are asking a “why” question to which the Bible does not usually provide comprehensive answers. Some would also say that God knowing this and allowed it made him not perfect as if he knew this was going to happen. Despite that, we should be able to come to a limited understanding. We have already seen that God is omniscient.

So, if God knew that Lucifer who later became Satan would rebel and fall from heaven, yet He created him anyway, it must mean that the fall of Satan was part of God’s sovereign plan from the beginning. No other answer makes sense given what we’ve seen thus far.

The Bible doesn’t spell out all of God’s reasons for creating him who became Satan, but it is important to remember that everything God created was initially “very good” (Gen. 1:31), and things only went wrong when the devil rebelled against his Creator (sometime shortly after the creation week, not before as many believe), and then human beings followed suit.

This is important since God did not create anything that was morally evil, and so He is not morally blameworthy for the evil that exists. Satan has no one to blame but himself for the choices he’s made.

So did God knew this would happen in advance? Of course, so He must have had a good reason for allowing evil into His creation. In the end, it must be worth it in God’s eyes to create a world in which He knew the devil and others would rebel against Him. I believe God is ultimately accomplishing a greater good through all the evil that the devil brings about.

First, we should understand that knowing Satan would rebel is not the same thing as making Satan rebel. The angel Lucifer had a free will and made his own choices. God did not create Lucifer as the devil; He created him good (Genesis 1:31).

In trying to understand why God created Satan, knowing he would rebel, we should also consider the following facts:

1) Lucifer had a good and perfect purpose before his fall. Lucifer’s rebellion does not change God’s original intent from something good to something bad.

2) God’s sovereignty extends to Satan, even in his fallen condition. God is able to use Satan’s evil actions to ultimately bring about God’s holy plan (see 1 Timothy 1:20 and 1 Corinthians 5:5).

3) God’s plan of salvation was ordained from eternity past (Revelation 13:8); salvation requires something to be saved from, and so God allowed Satan’s rebellion and the spread of sin.

4) The suffering that Satan brought into the world actually became the means by which Jesus, in His humanity, was made the complete and perfect Savior of mankind: “In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered” (Hebrews 2:10).

5) From the very beginning, God’s plan in Christ included the destruction of Satan’s work (see 1 John 3:8).

Ultimately, we cannot know for sure why God created Satan, knowing he would rebel. It’s tempting to assume that things would be “better” if Satan had never been created or to declare that God should have done differently.

But such assumptions and declarations are unwise. In fact, to claim we know better than God how to run the universe is to fall into the devil’s own sin of promoting himself above the Most High (Isaiah 14:13–14).

We see in Scripture that God often permits evil in order to bring about a greater blessing. Consider what Joseph said in Gen. 50:20 about how God accomplished a righteous end through the wicked actions of his brothers, or how God used Satan to test Job so that he and all those who read his story could gain wisdom and be blessed. God even turned the greatest evil into the greatest good, when Jesus was crucified (Acts 2:23; Rom. 5:18–19).

Ok, if this was the case, then why does God not stop bad things from happen to people?

The answer is: God bestowed on us free will. But unfortunately, we humans have abused our free will by rejecting God and walking away from Him. And that has resulted in the introduction of two kinds of evil into the world: moral evil and natural evil.

Moral evil is the immorality and pain and suffering and tragedy that come because we choose to be selfish, arrogant, uncaring, hateful and abusive. Romans 3:23 says “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

So much of the world’s suffering results from the sinful action or inaction of ourselves and others. For example, people look at a famine and wonder where God is, but the world produces enough food for each person to have 3,000 calories a day. It’s our own irresponsibility and self-centeredness that prevents people from getting fed.

In other words: look at your hand. You can choose to use that hand to hold a gun and shoot someone, or you can use it to feed hungry people. It’s your choice. But it’s unfair to shoot someone and then blame God for the existence of evil and suffering. Like that old cartoon said: “We have seen the enemy, and he is us.”

The second kind of evil is called natural evil. These are things like wildfires, earthquakes, tornadoes and hurricanes that cause suffering for people. But these, too, are the indirect result of sin being allowed into the world. As one author explained: “When we humans told God to shove off, He partially honored our request.

Nature began to revolt. The earth was cursed. Genetic breakdown and disease began. Pain and death became part of the human experience.”

The Bible says it’s because of sin that nature was corrupted and “thorns and thistles” entered the world. Romans 8:22 says, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” In other words, nature longs for redemption to come and for things to be set right. That’s the source of disorder and chaos.

Let’s make this crystal clear once more: God did not create evil and suffering. Now, it’s true that he did create the potential for evil to enter the world, because that was the only way to create the potential for genuine goodness and love. But it was human beings, in our free will, who brought that potential evil into reality.

Some people ask, “Couldn’t God have foreseen all of this?” And no doubt he did. But look at it this way: many of you are parents. Even before you had children, couldn’t you foresee that there was the very real possibility they may suffer disappointment or pain or heartache in life, or that they might even hurt you and walk away from you?

Of course — but you still had kids. Why? Because you knew there was also the potential for tremendous joy and deep love and great meaning.

Now, the analogy is far from perfect, but think about God. He undoubtedly knew we’d rebel against Him, but He also knew many people would choose to follow Him and have a relationship with Him and spend eternity in heaven with Him — and it was all worth it for that, even though it would cost His own Son great pain and suffering to achieve their redemption.

So, first, it helps me to remember, as I ponder the mystery of pain and evil, that God did not create them. The second point of light is this: Though suffering isn’t good, God can use it to accomplish good.

He does this by fulfilling His promise in Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Notice that the verse doesn’t say God causes evil and suffering, just that he promises to cause good to emerge. And notice that the verse doesn’t say we all will see immediately or even in this life how God has caused good to emerge from a bad circumstance.

Remember, we only see things dimly in this world. And notice that God doesn’t make this promise to everyone. He makes the solemn pledge that he will take the bad circumstances that befall us and cause good to emerge if we’re committed to following Him.

Ok then again, back to the original question – If God has the power to eradicate evil and suffering, then why doesn’t He do it?”

The answer is that because He hasn’t done it yet doesn’t mean He won’t do it. let’s say if someone wrote a novel. What if you read only half of it and then slammed it down and said, “Well, that was a terrible job with that book. There are too many loose ends with the plot. He didn’t resolve all the issues with the characters.” I’d say, “Hey – you only read half the book!”

And the Bible says that the story of this world isn’t over yet. It says the day will come when sickness and pain will be eradicated and people will be held accountable for the evil they’ve committed. Justice will be served in a perfect way. That day will come, but not yet.

So what’s holding God up? One answer is that some of you may be. He’s actually delaying the consummation of history in anticipation that some of you will still put your trust in Him and spend eternity in heaven. He’s delaying everything out of His love for you.

SecondPeter 3:9 says: “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”To me, that’s evidence of a loving God, that He would care that much for you.

We’ve all seen examples of how the same suffering that causes one person to turn bitter, to reject God, to become hard and angry and sullen, can cause another person to turn to God, to become more gentle and more loving and more tender, willing to reach out to compassionately help other people who are in pain.

Some who lose a child to a drunk driver turn inward in chronic rage and never-ending despair; another turns outward to help others by founding Mothers Against Drunk Drivers.

As one philosopher said: “I believe all suffering is at least potential good, an opportunity for good. It’s up to our free choice to actualize that potential. Not all of us benefit from suffering and learn from it, because that’s up to us, it’s up to our free will.”

God’s ultimate answer to suffering isn’t an explanation; it’s the incarnation. Suffering is a personal problem; it demands a personal response. And God isn’t some distant, detached, and disinterested deity; He entered into our world and personally experienced our pain.

Jesus is there in the lowest places of our lives. Are you broken? He was broken, like bread, for us. Are you despised? He was despised and rejected of men. Do you cry out that you can’t take any more? He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

Did someone betray you? He was sold out. Are your most tender relationships broken? He loved and He was rejected. Did people turn from you? They hid their faces from Him as if He were a leper.

Does He descend into all of our hells? Yes, He does. From the depths of a Nazi death camp, Corrie ten Boom wrote these words: “No matter how deep our darkness, He is deeper still.” Every tear we shed becomes his tear.

So when tragedy strikes, as it will; when suffering comes, as it will; when you’re wrestling with pain, as you will – and when you make the choice to run into His arms, here’s what you’re going to discover: you’ll find peace to deal with the present, you’ll find courage to deal with your future, and you’ll find the incredible promise of eternal life in heaven. All of us will go through pain and suffering.

God does not send bad things to punish us or test us. In fact, God does not send them at all. Rather I sense that there are powerful forces loose in the world, forces like evil, disease and death. What is God’s role in all this turmoil? If God is not sending the disease, the accidents, the tragedies, then why not, Zeus-like, step in and prevent them?

For me, this is a harder question to answer. The experience of the individual cries so clearly for divine intervention, for healing, for salvation from emotional or physical pain. Although sometimes miraculous healings do occur which suggest the presence of the Divine, in my experience there generally is not much physical intervention.

However, the “intervention” I have experienced has been as powerful as anything physical. I have grown certain that God actually mourns these horrible events with us, that God is as sad, even more so, about what is happening to me as I am.

Yet I keep coming back to this haunting question, With all of God’s power why does he not stop the bad things from happening in people lives?

In searching his words which we all know to be true, I found this passage that helps me understand a bit. God allows bad things to happen because it is his will to allow bad things to happen. Let us read.

(Ephesians 1:11– says Furthermore, because of Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us from the beginning, and all things happen just as he decided long ago). See the things that we might consider bad, such as getting robbed or breaking a leg by falling down some stairs, would both be bad.

Theft is morally wrong, where accidentally breaking your leg is not. He allows both kinds of things to happen to us. Why? Well, we can’t always give a definite answer to every situation, but we can say that God is not surprised by anything and he has a reason for allowing things to occur.

Another explanation as to why God allows bad things to happen is due to Adamic representation. Adam represented us (1 Corinthians 15:22) so that when he sinned in the Garden of Eden, we ended up suffering the consequences of his rebellion. In other words, we are born in a fallen and sinful world because of Adam’s sin.

This would mean that God is allowing the consequences of sin to run their course in the world, which includes bad things, because Adam represented us. Also, we could say this demonstrates how bad sin really is, and God wants to show everyone how bad sin and its effects really are.

Yet another explanation is that God can use bad things to lead to good things. For example, when we look at the crucifixion of Jesus, which is the means by which we are saved from our sins, we see that it was a result of people doing bad things to Jesus. Yet, we are saved by it.

Sometimes we don’t understand why bad things happen. Personally, I suffered really bad things in my life and I am very sure you have also, because of it I have asked this question over and over, Why God, Why God, why did this bad thing happen to me or to her or to them. How come you do not stop it from happening.

I have heard some people say that all the bad things that happen in the world prove that God does not exist. How could there be a God, they wonder, who allows so much evil to take place?

All I can do at this point in my life is to give an answer to these people by assuring them that God does exist and He deeply cares about His children. He cares so much, in fact, that He suffered crucifixion and death so that we might truly live.

I believe suffering results from our separation from God. He is holy, all-powerful, all-loving, all that is good. God’s role, I have felt, is to be “by my side,” to understand me, to comfort me, to “lead me beside still waters… [and] restore my soul” (from Psalm 23) in the metaphorical “Valley of Death” which I face, as does every other person in the world.

The question of stopping evil means that if God is to stop evil, then He must stop all evil. This means that the murderer must be stopped along with the thief. But it also means that thinking evil, which is in rebellion against God, must also be stopped as well; that is, if all evil is to be stopped.

Therefore, for God to stop evil and suffering may very well mean that He must remove the ability for people to freely choose what they want to do. So, if God is going to stop evil, is He required to stop all of it or just some of it? If only some of it, then the question would still stand.  If He stops all of it, would we be free?

Which lead me to write this article and combine many other inputs from many well know Ministers, Teachers, and Theologies from all around this world in order to search for the ultimate answer I been asked or asking this question myself. WHY DOES GOD ALLOW SUFFERING IN THIS WORLD.

My answer is, I do not have the answer to that question as to why a loving God would allow so much evil in the world and be a stumbling block to faith for many people.

Why do good people sometimes suffer terribly while evil people live lives of ease? These are very difficult things to understand, Unless you accept God’s grace to deal with suffering, inevitably you will become bitter.

However, if you choose to trust God to bring about His purposes through the suffering, you can avoid the trap of bitterness and grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord. (See II Corinthians 5:7 and II Peter 3:18.)

Finally, and most importantly, God’s role is to help me and you to heal on a daily basis- help us collect the pieces broken by experience- help us become whole again, Whole as I was intended and created to be from the beginning by this loving God.

Amen

In light of all that has been going on with the USA, we see all sorts of issues were dealing with and one of them is that we as a nation has failed, why? The answer is pretty simple.

We as a Nation are not humbling ourselves before God any more, we have humble ourselves to the world ways and views and have degraded what we once were, a people of God, serving God and a Nation under God.

We must humble ourselves and cry out to God and get back on track, if we do not then we cannot advance spiritually without the virtues of faith and humility walking together.

When either is isolated from the other, our walk becomes unbalanced. Faith without humility degrades into presumption, while humility isolated from faith can become oppressive. We need both.

Scriptures tell us that without faith it is impossible to please God and that whatever is done without faith is sin (Heb. 11:6; Rom. 14:23). God gives promises, and it is faith that possesses them. Yet what faith possesses, humility surrenders.

Consider Christ: there will be a time when every knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Phil. 2:10-11). The kingdoms of this world will finally become the kingdom of our Lord (Rev. 11:15). However, Christ’s reaction to subduing the world is that He then “hands over the kingdom to the . . . Father” (1 Cor. 15:24). This is the humility of Christ: what He conquers, He then surrenders. Well the problem we have as a Nation our current leaders are not surrendering themselves over to God and giving into pleasures of this world and not giving it back to God, in their eyes the god they serve is self.

In America we want faith to conquer, but we’re not sure we want the second part, giving it back to God, total surrender. Yet this is the pattern of those who have followed God: Abraham has faith and believes God and, in time, the promised son is born. Yet at the command of God, Abraham, in worshipful surrender, takes Isaac to a mountain and there actually surrenders him back to God.

David conquers Jerusalem then dedicates it to the Lord, calling it the “city of God.” Or consider Hannah who was barren, who bears a child, Samuel, but then surrenders Samuel to God (1 Sam. 1). I pray for my city, not so I can possess it, but so I can give it back to God. Whatever we gain by faith, to grow into maturity, we must surrender as an offering back to God.

This is the great mystery, one that I believe holds within itself a key to the power of God working in our lives: what we give over to God, He takes over. He multiplies the loaves and fish. so He will multiply our resources as we surrender our treasures to God, where neither moth not dust corrupts (Matt. 6:20).

You see, our goal is not only to create a better life here for ourselves but, through faith and humility, to extend the Kingdom of God into our world (Matt. 6:10). Faith brings Heaven’s provisions to Earth; our surrender brings God’s presence into those provisions, multiplies them, and makes them a blessing to many.

If we do not humble ourselves and act upon faith in believing that God cannot do what he says, then this Nation is dead and we have given place to the worldly views because we as a Nation has submitted to the lust of man and not given this Nation back to God.

If this is the case then we will never see the blessing of God as we once did in the past and were nothing more than a wicked and viperous generation. God help us. Humble yourselves and cry out and give this Nation back to God. Lord help us.

You know while I was sitting here writing this letter I had to ask myself this question, Why do people who in the past insist of still trying to cause trouble, problems or feel the need to run to other people with such info that’s said in other sites or rooms?

I sit here and wonder why, why do you or those of you who strive to cause trouble keep trying to cause them, and for the life of I me I just don’t get it and just don’t understand nor am I even trying to understand the need to take such news of what’s said in different chat rooms and run to another person with that info of what was said. What purpose does it serve anymore.

In a way it saddens me to be writing a post such as this but it was needed to be said. For those of you who have been part of chat sites or were in chat rooms and now for those who have their own sites. The questions is – Why do you still feel it is still necessary to keep trying to flog a dead horse or yet even bother to try and keep drumming up the past. Why do you continue to insist of doing so?

What’s wrong with you? Look none of us are perfect and yes all of us has made mistakes and yes we even got caught up in the mess of things. Even I found myself at one point of getting caught up in all of this chat room junk and drama, Look folks Satan is good at this.

But it came a point of my life when I saw the errors of my ways and I saw how it was causing me great deal of harm and THB here, it was not who I was nor what I should have been. So thank God he dealt with me and shown me that I had to repent and move on and leave those who continue in this mess alone and part ways.

But sadly many of you have not repented or will not let it go, well don’t sit here and read this and say well yes I have repented and act like you did because if you did, all of the past events, drama or the garbage would no longer be part of you. Don’t sit here and say who are you to be saying this with your holy than thou attitude, the fact remains you have not and yet you are still clinging to the past, My God what is wrong with you. The problem is your hanging on to the past and not letting it go.

For those of you, If your reading this and if your one of the many who still insist of coming to this site to feed me info saying do you know that so and so was talking about you or did you know so and so was saying bad things about you and this site. Well people WHO CARES what the person or persons is saying, because you need to keep that to yourself because I don’t want to hear it.

Why are you still hanging onto wounds of the past? Better yet how can we be Christians when we have not given up the past life of who we once were? Don’t we have to be reborn a new person to become a Christian? That’s what the bible tells us.

Some Christians still have battle scars from the past that have never gone away. When we keep the hurt within our attitude, we keep chipping away at it every single day and it never heals. We can’t seem to let the past go – we want to keep bringing up the hurt or the wrong and it keeps us from truly acknowledging Christ for our life. We shouldn’t allow our past to determine our future.

The truth is if we want a happy and fulfilled life we need to give up the past and allow God to bring in today. But today will never come if we keep wallowing in what was.

What was is something that hurt us deeply but is now dead and buried. If you are alive in Christ you can’t bring what is dead with you –you must leave it behind where it belongs or either stay buried with it. Sadly many of you are still blind and do not see the truth and will not let go of the past. Why?

The reason for this is because too many Christians are bound up in their past – and as a result, they cannot fully live in their present. Before you can really start to move forward in your divine destiny with the Lord – you will first have to learn how to let your past fully go.

2nd Corinthians 13:5 says – Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you – unless, of course, you fail the test?

So why do so many who still claim to call themselves Christians, claim to say they are of Christ, claim to be your friends and yet they hang on to the past and still feel it’s within their rights to attack you and say such bad things about you rather than letting it all go, or better yet just walk away from that past and just shut their mouths and move on with their life.

Well the reason you or others cannot let go is because they have became Toxic.

We’ve all met them: they are the people who drain you of energy instead of enriching you, they are people who pull you down instead of pushing you up, they are people who require more then they can provide; the negative, wining, needy, manipulative people who can turn a happy day into a living hell.

To me, when something is toxic, it is harmful to be around. A toxic thing poisons and infects whatever it touches, killing life and destroying good things. It spreads like a sickness and must be fought, must be contained. And I see this toxicity in a big part of Christianity and other religions today.

I know there are lots of people who are decent and good in this world. Some of them subscribe to one of the many religions humankind’s devised, with some of those choosing Christianity as their religion. Being Christian has nothing whatsoever to do with being decent and good, just as being decent and good has nothing whatsoever to do with being Christian.

So I believe the best way to deal with toxic people is to not deal with them at all; to avoid them. In some cases it may not be an option, but more often than not, it is.

But then again, the Scriptures repeatedly warn us to guard our own hearts and minds, and look out for our own spiritual well being. There are some people whose spirits are so toxic that we have to just cut off contact completely.

So when you have to go this route and cut them off, what happens next or how do they act, sadly many go on the warpath and say your the one who is not of Christ  or your not a True Christian or you do not know Jesus.  So why do these people treat you in this manner.

Sadly because they are blind and yes do not see the real issue and it’s because they are toxic and refuse to see the underlying issue. Because of what they are you have to cut ties with them and when you do so in order to get away from it, your label the bad person.

So when you avoid toxic people and you set boundaries with them, they frequently resort to accusing you, saying bad things about you complaining and playing the victim in an attempt to get you to change your behavior towards them.

One of the worst things you can do when this happens is to defend yourself. It is usually a futile action and it only keeps an immature dialog going which eventually helps the toxic person get what they want. You won’t get anywhere with them by defending yourself and your actions no matter what you say.

So why did I remove myself from these toxic people I have encounter in many chat sites or rooms, it was very simple no matter what I said or how hard I tried to be nice with them or tried to look past their faults, they still had a hidden agenda that forced me to say enough is enough and I am done with you.

Proverbs 23:9: Do not speak to fool, for he will scorn the wisdom of your words.

There are people who are committed to being negative, and nothing is going to move them from that position. To try to change them is futile and indeed that person will treat you with scorn. So, there are times that you cannot have a positive effect on a negative person, regardless of how kind your words may be or how good your motives are, it’s pointless.

Whatever you do, don’t allow that negative person to drag you down to negative territory. Toxic people are dangerous to you. They can be annoying, obnoxious, irritating and depressing. They can dampen your spirits. They can ruin your reputation or even worst shipwreck your true relationship with God.

The toxic person or persons, lacks empathy and sympathy, is completely devoid of a conscience, and derives pleasure from others’ suffering. But they can be very charming, charismatic, and almost cast a spell over their victims.

For those of you who are drawn to them and it takes time before you realize who they really are. They appear to be good, but in reality are “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” But once you leave them or stay away from them they attack you and call you a traitor, backstabber, thief or your not Christ like.

These people are ones who makes a claim or their thought process is a Victim Mentality this is where a person says, “I’m a victim,” in order to try and fool you or pull you back into their mist. Be warned of these people and stay away from them.

So for those  you who are lurking on this site, reading and trying to get into the chat room or those who do hang out in the chat room to see what info you can get in order to run back to others to spread the gossip or talks or to try and cause division.

Do me a favor and stop, leave me and us alone, don’t come running to this site and feed info to me to say did you know so and so from the from other site (s) or chat rooms was talking about you or this place. I no longer care nor want to hear all this junk, nor do I want to hear such talks anymore.

Enough was enough and no more, I no longer care to hear or entertain the gossip anymore, bottom line I Just don’t care to be part of it.  I stopped that nonsense because it serves no purpose to act that way, so now that I am no longer bothering you, why should you come and bother me with that nonsense?

I have better things to focus on than what you think or what was said in your site or what the other person says about this place or me, just keep it to yourself  from now own or go bother someone else who wants to be part of that mess.

You can get mad reading this, or get bent out of shape over this article, you know what, talk about me all you want, talk about this site all you want, talk till you turn blue in your face, you know what?

WHO CARES.

God bless you.

BrotherJim

When you start worrying about who likes you and who don’t…when you end up filtering the words that come from your mouth as in you speak so as not to offend instead of speaking the truth…then you ended up on the wrong path…let those who mock you do so and those who walk away from you, let them go…be true to God first and foremost and in doing so you’ll be true to yourself…say what you mean and mean what you say as long as the words you speak line up with The Word then no lies will come from your mouth…Did not Jesus die for you?, then will you not live for Him?

So true Jim thanks for this wise words that was needed. Yes in the past their have been many that came and gone in the chat room, many I called Friends, but later to find out when I had to deal with them, speak the truth in love even to a point where it  hurted me the most to say the truth them and yes even walk away from them, Then I was label the bad guy and mean person one who did not care.

So now many former members and folks I called friend even resort to slander, attacks and even running to the enemy’s camp to feed the so called gossip train. Hummm and they were folks who called themselves Christians. Well to be honest here if they were true to God and themselves they would not be doing such or acting in that manner. The reason many act this way is lacking the discernment of the Holy Spirit, because if he was with them they would know they are doing wrong.

Be warned these are the folks who will sweet talk you, be your friends, even hug you while holding the knife in the other hand to stab you in the back. These are the type of people who will not admit the truth to themselves to say yes I take full blame, yes I am wrong yes I need to repent and tell everyone the problem was not with me, but the problem was with them and they lost their ways and they were wrong.

I worried about many of them and still did till I read this post, but I still love them and hope once day they will truly repent and come back and said BrotherJim I am sorry, Brother Jim I was wrong and should not have done what I did and take full blame for my actions. I know many of you are lurking here on this site and will be reading this or even attempting to hide behind masked ip’s or fake account to get into the chat room.

All I can say is I pray and hope God will open your eyes to the truth and you see your ways before it’s too late. Many who came to this point and repented we spoke and prayed and praised God for us to repent, we ended up putting the past behind us and quit playing the worldly games and we quit following false teachers or yet Absalom and Jezebel Spirits and open our eyes to the real truth, I pray you do the same open your eyes, even now I am still praying for you before it too late.

So if you feel good to blast me, feel good to slander me, feel good to attack me and this place then knock yourself out, God know who is true to their hearts and in time will deal with you, God Bless you and may you have a great Day.

BrotherJim

Ok, How many of us have gone out and bought something, once you got home you had to open the box or the package and what was the first thing you saw inside that package?

If you were thinking the instruction manual, then your right. Ok now how many of us decided to take that manual and throw it aside and said to ourselves that we can put it together. Don’t sit their a smile like you never done that, I bet each of you have at one point or another and done so.

So once you did what happen, did it work, did it come out right or did you have a lot of left over parts and ended up having to get the manual to read and start all over again. If you done that you have said to yourself.

If I would have read the manual in the first place I would not be in this situation. Well I am here to tell you if we all would just read God’s instruction manual his Holy Words, we would not be in so much trouble or get into trouble.

Better yet his Holy words the bible is the manual and if we would read it and apply it, we would see that it shows us the The Way of Living – The right way and the wrong way.

Today were going to cover the right way of living, lets us read Galatians 5:25 – it says – If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

These are very good instructions for so lets break this down –By reading this passage here and doing so we see it starts off with the word IF.

You know the word if means it’s an action word or a condition on your part – yes it really is and bottom line the real meaning of this word is a Requirement from you.

Ok, as we read the rest of this passage, it talks about a spirit, what spirit you ask? Well I am glad to tell you that it’s Gods Spirit a person receives when they have said yes to Jesus Christ and has been born again. Now we set the foundation of what this spirit is. Let us further read this passage and we see (live in the spirit).

This means only one thing here that this is God’s Holy Spirit – not of you. We as Christians must be living our lives in this spirit not of the flesh and not of this world.

We see in this passage walk in the spirit, the word walk here refers to the meaning that we are to show the world and those around us what Gods power is really like.

The walk in terms refers to our lifestyles of who we are and how we act and how we live for others to see. Old things has passed away, we are made new.

Last but not least in this passage: The wording – in the spirit – – Here this part declares both life and holiness to be the work of the Holy Spirit; only he operates Salvation and he operates Sanctification – – bottom line the flesh cannot do this ever.

You may try to act right but you cannot succeed in this manner that alone is the workings and the power of the Holy Spirit himself.

So after breaking all of this down and putting it back together in Gal 5:25 it means 3 things.

1. Keep in step with the spirit. 2. Not run ahead of it.  3. Not lagging behind it.

To stay in step with the spirit, this involves being in the word, prayer, worship, praise, and fellowship with God’s people. It also means “pulling out the weeds” so that the seed of the word can take root and bear fruit.

We must remember that this fruit is produced to be eaten, not to be admired and put on display. People around us are starving for love, Joy, Peace, and all the other graces of the Spirit. When they find them in our lives, they know that we have something they lack and wished they had it also, but would not admit it they need what we have.

In short the secret is the Holy Spirit. The only way and no other way. He alone can give us that freedom — the freedom from sin and self, He enables us to fulfill the laws of love, to overcome the flesh and to bear fruit.

So will you yield to him and let him work? If not, then why not?  If you walk in the spirit you have to ask yourself this.

Now that were living the right way, how did we get to this point?  In case you may have notice the passage above Gal 5:25 is Gal 5:24 – which says this: And those who are Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Now notice the first 5 words of this passage – and those who are Christ. Hummmmmmmm

Folks this is a very bold statement here and it’s the facts —– Either you are his or you are not! There is no middle ground here.

Now notice: if we say we are, then we have to put to death the old things in us, the old ways of living, the things we once desired, the wrong ways and now we must live the new ways of Jesus Christ in us and through us.

This can be done only by the believer understanding that it was carried out by Jesus Christ at the cross. Everything was nailed to the cross, put to death at the cross and finished at the cross. Remember this song

At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light, And the burden of my heart rolled away, It was there by faith I received my sight, And now I am happy all the day!

Walk in the Spirit folks and let him direct your ways and let your hearts be open to him and his following.

Amen

Our Reading for the night… Genesis 3:1-5

1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.'”

4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Introduction : In Genesis 3 we are confronted with a “close encounter of the third kind”—not an encounter with the living God but rather with Satan, the “god of this world”—the god who rules the new age with the old lies.

Up until the 1960s Satan staged a frontal assault on truth. He emphasized a “scientific atheism,” which is making a comeback with Richard Dawkins and The God Delusion and Christopher Hitchens and God Is Not Good; but this is no longer Satan’s primary tactic.

Now the approach is more subtle, more sophisticated, more “spiritual.” Satan loves to talk about “Jesus,” God, harmony and peace, brotherhood, unity, light, love, hope, angels, and salvation.

The Greeks laid siege to Troy for ten years with no success. So they built a large wooden horse and apparently sailed away. The Trojans were curious and ignored the warning to “beware of Greeks bearing gifts.” Therefore, Troy was captured, the people massacred, and the city burned. Beware of the god of the new age peddling old lies!

This is why Title this message – Five Lies Satan Loves to Tell

There are five lies Satan loves to tell in Genesis 3:1–5: the first two are meant to critically wound you and the last three will kill you forever.

1^st Lie Satan tells. You can’t really trust the God of the Bible:

His character is suspect. He is an unfair God. He wants to make the rules and give moral commands and restrict many of your freedoms and privileges (v. 1). “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” God is so unfair!

He is at best an ignorant and at worst a dishonest God (vv. 2–4). “God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it lest, you die.’ Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die.’” Therefore, God is either ignorant and has no idea what He is talking about or He is a liar.

He is a selfish God (v. 5): “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” God doesn’t want to share His privileges and wisdom and deity with you. He is selfish and wants to keep it all for himself.

2^nd Lie Satan tells. You can’t really trust the Bible either.

If you can’t trust the God who claims to have written the Bible, then how can you trust the Bible? There are so many “uncertainties” in the Bible: “Has God really said . . . ?” It’s all a matter of opinion.

It’s all a matter of interpretation. There are so many “contradictions” in the Bible. God says, “You will surely die” and Satan says, “You will not surely die.” Who can you trust?

You can’t really trust the Bible because of higher criticism and liberal theology: The Bible may contain the word of God somewhere, but the Bible isn’t the word of God. We must first demythologize it, take the supernatural out, and reconstruct it.

You can’t really trust the Bible because of Neo-orthodox theology: The Bible may become the word of God, but the Bible isn’t always the word of God—“Has God really said . . . ?”

Now, if you have believed these first two lies, your spirit is already critically wounded! The next three lies will kill you forever.

3^rd Lie Satan Tells. There is no such thing as eternal death, final judgment, and hell.

Regardless of what the God of the Bible says, since you can’t trust God or His book anyway, “you will not surely die.” Haven’t you ever heard of universalism?

Everyone will be okay in the end, because “love wins.” A loving God would never judge anybody or send anyone to hell forever.

Haven’t you ever heard of reincarnation? There are plenty of chances to overcome bad karma. God is the God of endless chances, not last chances.

Haven’t you ever heard of all those near-death experiences? What about those feelings of love, peace, joy, and that great light at the end of the tunnel?

So forget the sinfulness of man, the holiness of God, and the atonement of Christ. Relax! There is no eternal death, final judgment, or hell.

4^th Lie Satan Tells. You can be God!

You have the divine nature and life within you; you have just been so ignorant for so long. “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (v. 5, emphasis added).

Haven’t you ever heard of pantheism? Haven’t you ever heard of transcendentalism and the new age? All is one, all is god, I am god.

5^th Lie Satan Tells. There is secret (occult) knowledge available to you, superior to the Bible.

Haven’t you ever heard of Gnosticism? Secret occult knowledge? “your eyes will be opened . . . knowing good and evil . . . desirable to make one wise . . . then the eyes of both of them were opened” (vv. 5–7).

Haven’t you ever heard of fortune telling, astrology, witchcraft, séances, crystals? You can have secret knowledge superior to the Bible.

Conclusion

Do people really believe these lies? Yes they do All the time! Look at Adam and Eve (vv. 7–10). And the consequences are devastating because of the lies (vv. 11–24).

The only effective response to Satan’s lies is God’s truth, because God himself said he does not LIE!!!!.

The God of the Bible is the only true God and fully trustworthy. Therefore, God’s best-selling book The Bible is fully trustworthy also. There is eternal death, a final judgment, and a hell to come. We are not God and never can be.

Neither can Satan be God. Secret knowledge is that which Satan provides and it will kill you. Certain knowledge is that which God provides and Jesus Christ will save you.

Amen

Re-cap of Room Devotional in Christianchat.info chat room on 2/28/14

Our reading for the night will be Hebrews 12:14-17 & 25

14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: 15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;

16 lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. 17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.

Heb 12:25 – See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven,

This is why I title this message : Five Corrosives to Faith

Here we see that Hebrews 12 offers five corrosives to faith, each of which seems rather mundane. But for most of us, the greatest danger to our faith is not a cataclysmic event, but it’s the gradual dulling of our heart toward God.

Have you found yourself standing in Acid and has it corroded your faith, has it wore you down to nothing to a point that’s all they see in you or is this what you show to others around you.

Ok folks if this is the case then you need to do a self check list to find the root cause of the corrosiveness of your faith and find a way to neutralized it in order to put your faith back on track before it gets corroded to a point other will not listen to what you have to say anymore.

You need to see to it that you do the will of God, as we say down in these parts get the hazmat team in to clean up the mess.

So what are the five causes of corrosives in your faith? Well I am glad you asked, Tonight we will cover 5 the points to see how this happens to us.

The 1st. one is Division (Heb. 12:14)

Division and strife have a way of making us forget all about how Christ is “our city.” Someone offends us and our pride gets riled up; before long we are marshalling troops to protect our city. But the author of Hebrews encourages us to “seek peace:’ which means that we should be the first to offer forgiveness, even when wronged or was wronged by someone else in our lives.

It means that we take the towel and wash the feet of those in conflict with us, like Christ did. It means that we serve our “enemies” and seek their well-being. This takes the focus off of our city or selves and refocuses it back on Jesus Christ.

The 2^nd. one is  Worldliness (Heb. 12:14)

The author of Hebrews tells us to pursue holiness, which is the opposite of worldliness. As long as our minds are saturated with worldly pursuits and things and what about that other person, we will never be able to “see” God they way he really is.

The Greek word for “pursue” lets us know that this takes a lot of discipline. The word literally means “persecute” or “hunt.” Meaning here we are supposed to track it and hunt it down relentlessly.

The 3rd. one is Bitterness (Heb. 12:15)

Idolatry is like a poisonous weed, or as the author of Hebrews says, a “root of bitterness.” It starts off very small, but soon infiltrates the entire garden. Tragically, a lot of us will miss the grace of God because we are distracted by idolatry. We allow something to carry more weight in our heart than God.

Those of us who think idolatry is a non-issue we should ask ourselves: What dominates our thoughts? What upsets us? What makes us jealous? What makes us hold on to the past? Whatever that thing is, it is an idol to us, and if we are not vigilant, it will choke out any desire for God and render us powerless in the workings of the Holy Spirit and his guidance.

The 4^th one is Sensual pleasures (Heb. 12:16)

For many of us, the addictiveness of immorality or bodily comforts is drugging us and keeping us from thinking about what really matters.

Think about how much people arrange their lives just to “feel good.” Many of us are slaves to “Esau’s stomach:’ which the author compares to sex, and this keeps us from thinking about what is eternal.

The 5th. One is  Inattention (Heb. 12:25)

Many of us are familiar with the details of Jesus’ brutal beating and death. A cat-o’-nine-tails with pieces of bone and metal shredded his flesh to the bone. Isaiah says that he was beaten so brutally that he no longer looked like a human.

Folks he was then nailed up on a cross, naked, in full view of the public, to suffer and die humiliated. We need to take a look at this and be willing to have ourselves stripped, beaten and put up on the cross to expose us for who we really are naked without him.

In closing

If God did all this to save us, and we make him a secondary thought, how can we hope to escape? This is God speaking! Our eternity depends on whether or not we listen—how can we take that so lightly?

Think about it as other people look at you and your actions, what do they see?

Are you full of corrosives that will burn, or do you exhibit the fruits of the Holy Spirit for them to see and willing to receive the new life that Jesus Christ has to offer?

If you’re the other you better fix it before it corrodes you into nothing and shows you in bad light to others around you and render you useless and causing someone to miss out on their salvation.

Which are you? Think about it?

Amen

Recap of Devotional in Christianfellowship chat room Friday Jan 24,2014

To begin with this and why I was lead to speak on the lesson for tonight. In all my dealings with folks in Church, around town and yes even these chat rooms I have notice one thing. Many Christians struggle and seams to have a lot of problems.

Folks let me tell you this very one thing, this kind of living should not be so as a child of the Living God. God is good, God is great and God takes care of us. But yet we all seam to make it like it’s a hard life to live and were having all kinds of issues and we make it look like it is impossible to have a happy life.

Does living the Christian life seem impossible? Let me tell you a secret–it is impossible–on our own. Trying to live the Christian life by your own efforts is like a ship on dry land it just doesn’t work very well.

For the ship to get anywhere, it needs to be resting on the water. And to enjoy the Christian life, one needs to learn on how rest in God. Paul knows this: “For I can do everything God asks me to with the help of Christ who gives me strength and power” (Philippians 4:13).

The Christian’s secret to a consistent life is for Christ to live His life through us: “I have been crucified with Christ: and I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. And the real life I now have within this body is a result of my trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

We as Christian s hear a lot about “Godly behavior,” but often wonder what that actually means. As Christians we are asked to live to a higher standard, because we are representatives of God on Earth. So striving to live a God-centered life is important, because when we exhibit Godly behavior we are providing a good witness to those around us.

God expects us to live by a higher standard. This means that God wants us to be examples of Christ rather than living by the world’s standards, in the word of God we see many of these examples and many times we must get out of our comfort zones and do what God ask you and I to do. If we do what he asked us, the blessings and rewards will be great   we see this in the scriptures were about to read.

Reading: Genesis 12:1-9

12:1 Promises to Abram – Now the LORD had said to Abram:

“Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

4 So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan.

6 Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land. 7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said,”To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him. 8 And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. 9 So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.

It’s important to remember that in addition to the Old Testament events being true and literal, these accounts are also illustrations of New Testament principles. Referring to the Old Testament scriptures Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:6 that these things occurred as examples for us.

With this in mind let’s have a look at five ways that Abram’s story in Genesis 12:1-9 has application for you and for me today.

This is why I Title the lesson: Five Things You’ll Experience in Your Life with Christ

1st) Continual strength from instruction

Genesis 12:6 says that Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. The name Shechem means shoulder — the shoulder was a symbol of strength in the Jewish culture, similar to what the bicep symbolizes in our culture today (The shoulder makes more sense if you think about it, if you want something to move put your shoulder into it).

The name Moreh means instruction. This we see in 2 Timothy 2:15 – Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. This makes perfect sense if you think it through. God’s ways are higher than our ways, better than our ways, and different than our ways.

It’s not natural for us to understand the ways of the God who is so big that the scripture says He measures the universe with the span between His thumb and His little finger! (Isaiah 40:12) A God as big, as powerful, and as amazing as ours requires that we study His ways to learn them. It’s essential that you and I recognize God’s Bible for what it is, a supernatural book that has a supernatural effect on our lives as we study His word. As we learn God’s ways in His scriptures we’re strengthened by Him.

#2nd) In our life with Christ = Constant Conflict

At that time the Canaanites were in the land. (v.6) We’ll see throughout much of the Old Testament that the enemy of the Jewish people, the Canaanites, were allowed to live alongside the Israelites for centuries, which resulted in constant conflict in the lives of the Jews.

We experience constant conflict in our lives today that the Lord allows our flesh to live alongside His Spirit that’s in us. We too experience a life of conflict between our Spirit and our flesh. Jealousy, envy, lust, intemperance, a short temper, sharp words, selfishness, greed — you and I have the very same problem Paul had, as he said what I desire to do in God’s Spirit I sometimes find so very difficult to do, and what I don’t desire to do in my flesh, I sometimes find myself doing.

Paul said in Romans 7: “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25)

This side of heaven Earth), you and I will always have your flesh with you. But thank God for Christ who strengthens your Spirit and in whom you can do all things. (1 Corinthians 4:13) You shall overcome! (1 John 5:1-6)

#3rd) In our life with Christ  = Continual Cleansing

Twice in chapter 12 we see Abram build an alter. (v.7-8) When we build an alter to the Lord, or in your life and my life, when we go to that alter, that’s when we’re altered. That’s when I’m changed into the man God desires me to become. That’s when you are  changed. That’s when you are cleansed. That’s where you are renewed!

It’s interesting to see here the beginning of a pattern in Abram/Abraham’s life. Pretty much wherever Abraham had a tent, God had an alter. That’s a great model for you and I to follow when we are keeping up the worship of God in our family wherever we may be, and in whatever circumstances we may find ourselves.

#4) In our life with Christ =  Continual Choice

From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. (v.8) The name Bethel means house of God. The name Ai means house of ruin, heap, or dump. Abram had choices before him as we all do, every day. The house of God on the West, and the house of ruin on the East.

In Acts 7:2-3 Stephen tells us that God originally commanded Abram to leave his original home of Ur 25 years before Abram set out from Harran. In Ur Abram had a very comfortable life. He was rich materially. He was likely well respected for his wealth, his position in his father’s household, and his beautiful wife Sarah.

He likely was comfortable in the habit of worshiping and yet comfortable as he was, Abram chose to obey God’s command to travel to a yet to be identified location. So often I see this issue of comfort in peoples’ lives today when they come into this chat room seeking advice. A person in a comfortable situation who knows in his or her heart what God would have him do and yet they resists.

So – What are you comfortable with? Are you comfortable in a relationship that God would have you leave? Are you comfortable with being unemployed? Are you comfortable with your dependency on alcohol? Are you comfortable with your dependency on prescription drugs? Are you comfortable with sleeping in on Sundays or using a chat room as an excuse rather than leaving your home and spending time with God over at His house?

Perhaps you’ve been in your comfort zone now for a number of years. Take heart! By Stephens account in Acts 7 Abram failed to respond to God’s calling for 25 years! But God in His grace patiently stuck with Abram through every one of those 25 years of procrastination. Ladies and Gentleman Our God is the God of second chances.

#5th) In our life with Christ = Continual Blessings:

People tend to want to stay in their current, familiar, comfortable situation, even if it’s destructive or less than God’s best. Abram was comfortable with his life in Ur but yet he chose to do what he knew God would have him do. Let’s see what the result was.

“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;” God said in verse 2 of Genesis 12. Abram was blessed with the gift of bearing abundant fruit. He who was without a child, who’s wife had been barren for decades, was promised the gift of bearing abundant fruit.

“I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” (v.2) Abram was blessed with a great name as well as the privilege of being a blessing to others. “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;” (v.3) Abram was blessed with the security of God’s protection. “and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (v.3) This last part of verse three speaks of the greatest blessing of all — through Abraham through the Messiah Jesus Christ, would come, imparting the blessing of salvation to all peoples on earth.

In closing.

Abram’s choice to act on what he knew God wanted him to do resulted in the blessing of primacy in that it would be from Abraham that the Savior of the world would come (v.3); the blessing of identity in that he was given a great name (v.2); and the  blessing of security in that God promised to protect him (v.3).

Interestingly, in the previous chapter of Genesis the builders of the Tower of Babel attempted to attain the same blessings, but not through acting on what God wanted them to do, but rather through the energy of their own flesh and their ways.

They said in Genesis 11:4 “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens (primacy), so that we may make a name for ourselves (identity); otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth (security).” See they were trying it their own way rather than trying God’s way.

Every day you and I face the same choice. To travel the path of those in Genesis chapter 11, or to follow the example of Abram in chapter 12. It didn’t work out very well for those who attempted the tower of Babel in fact it ended very badly. But if you follow Abram’s example and leave your comfort zone, awkward and difficult it may be, and act on what you know God would have you to do, you too will experience God’s blessings.

Folks let me tell you right now, Choose God’s way. You’ll never regret it, listen to his instructions and follow his ways when he gives you the instructions needed to make changes in your life.

Amen

This is a re-cap of Fridays Devotional in Christianfellowship chat room 01/03/14

Reading of: 1 Tim 4:10 – For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.

So our key word for tonight is : Trust….

As I was writing this devotion and thinking about God, I told someone the other day, no matter what happens us or what ever the outcome may be, or how things may turn out or how bad it may look, one thing for sure we have to trust in God.

By us trusting in God we will see what God has in store for us.  After I talked with that person I can only think of one thing, and that is God is in control to say otherwise would be saying he is not.

No matter what happens to us, no matter if things did not work out the way we wanted them to or no matter what. If we do not get the things our way, we have to understand this and we can be assured of is this, God is in control no matter what. You would say well BrotherJim how can you be sure of this, and I will answer you with this as I was reminded ISA 55:8-9 which says:

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.  “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.

My dear friends the sooner we come to grips with his and understand we as God’s children must realize one important thing. We need to keep our focus and place our trust in him and not of ourselves. Because of this and the fact is in his words which the most important thing of all. If God is with us, then who can be against us.

I was reminded of something Sunday when speaking to a person and as I told that person trust is a very hard thing to do, but we must let it go what ever it is and give it God and sit back and let him drive. We are alone for the ride. If it is done by God’s way then it will be truly blessed.

The reason I say this is as believers have a great future promised by God. So we need to quit thinking of ourselves and quit doing it our way and learn to trust in God’s way, this is the only way to do things in our lives today.

Christians and I mean true blue born again Christians train themselves toward godliness not in order to be saved but because they are saved and want to be ready for all eternity with Christ no matter what this world is doing or how folks are living or acting.

Remember my dear friends this world is not our home, Heaven is and here on earth were just passing by. Believers are willing to work hard, deny themselves certain activities, get slapped in the face, even rejected by friends or even family members and face reproach from an unbelieving world because they “Trust in the Living God”.

Their trust is in the One who died on the cross and rose again- not in philosophy, not in a set of rules, not in personal achievement, not of ones self and not what is going on in this world nor in a standard of behavior.

Their Trust is in a living God who is their anchor, their Hopes, and their certain future with him in his kingdom.

So for Tonight or Today depends of what part of the world you are in right now, I would like to leave you with this thought:

When we place our Trust in God, we have nothing to fear and we know that all things are possible with him and not men.

AMEN