Monday, December 30, 2013

Living in the trust of God

So, how are you at trusting God? I trust Him sometimes and sometimes I trust me. Sometimes I want to do what I want to do when I want to do it, and how I want to do it and not wait on God. I mean, I know God has a plan for me, and I know He knows what’s best, but sometimes I just want to put the plan on hold and live in the moment, you know, like you just want to tell God, “Chill, I got this?” Have you ever felt like that, or do you believe God knows what is best for you in every area of your life? Let me tell you a little story about living in the trust of God.
Timothy Ross was looking for another job, because the one he had was weighing on his heart. He worked in hospice and seeing death all around him was taking its toll. He wanted to work for the County of Los Angeles. He begin praying and seeking the will of God in this situation. After many months of praying and thanking God in advance for what He believed, the County contacted him for testing. He took the test but didn’t pass. A friend, employed with the County told him that he would probably not get the job, but he could try again later. Tim did not let that stop him from praying and believing God. He continued to thank God and went on working his regular job without grumbling or complaining, but trusting. A few weeks later, a friend of a friend who also worked for the County called Tim to discuss an open position in his department that he might be interested in, but there were some conditions. He would be paid less, work fewer hours, and he would be exempt from full benefits. His wife told him to let it go and stay where he was, but despite the opposition from family and friends, one thing led to another and Timothy got the job. Two months later he was promoted to a full-time driver with benefits.
The moral of this story is: When you are trusting God, believing He hears your prayers and will give you what you ask for, you will be victorious in all you do. The Bible says, “You have not because you ask not (James 4:2).” Many of us don’t ask God for help, thinking He is so above us that He doesn’t care. He does, you are His children, and He is your Daddy. He delights in doing for you. The thing is you have to ask with the right motives and with the right heart condition. You have to continue to focus on Him and His plan for you and not on your plans or someone else’s plans. Timothy could have listen to the negative people talking in his ears. He could have let the devil turn him away from his dream by looking for another kind of job, but he trusted God and lived in the belief that what he wanted was going to come to pass. When you are living in the trust of God, conditions or situations can change, getting in the door is the purpose. When you are trusting God the out come may not look exactly like what you see, but in the end it will be the best you have ever seen. Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths (Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV).


Monday, December 23, 2013

Truth Believing

Sorry for the delay, but the devil is a liar and has been defeated. 
 

Kelly Peters was sitting in Church one Sunday morning looking around at all the smiling faces worshiping and praising God. She had not been to Church in almost thirteen years, since the day she got saved. She sat there thinking about her friend Terry White, who loved God so much. All she ever talked about was God this and God that, Terry told her that if she ever died, she was going to heaven to live with God. Kelly remembered those words on the day Terry died in a terrible car accident. It was after the accident that Kelly went to Church and got saved in remembrance of her friend.

It has been fourteen years since Terry died, but sitting in Church today Kelly saw it like yesterday. She was jolted out of thought when she heard the Pastor begin to speak. “Does everyone have a Bible?” Kelly looked around and many people were holding one up, she did not have one, so she said a silent ‘no’ to herself. Then the Pastor said, “Anyone who does not have a Bible please put your hand up.” Kelly looked to see if any hands went up and then she slowly raised her hand. A few minutes later, the lady next to her handed her a Bible. Kelly smiled and thanked her. Then the Pastor told everyone to turn to the first book and the first verse, Genesis 1:1. “Now read it out loud,” he told them. Everyone in unison read, “In the Beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Then the Pastor closed the Bible and said, “Do you believe that, that is the topic of today’s Sermon.”

On the drive home, Kelly kept saying to herself over and over again, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, do you believe that.” She didn’t know if she believed it or not. That night, she lay down in bed repeating it over and over in her head. Soon she thought, “It’s impossible for God to create heaven and earth,” and then she tossed and turned the night away back and forth wresting with that thought, but as she begin to fall deeper to sleep she felt an overwhelming sensation of truth come over her. Then she heard a little whisper, “All things are possible to them that believe.” She fell off to sleep believing everything that she heard God speak to her heart. Today Kelly became a Believer.

Being a Christian starts with whether you truly believe that “In the Beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1).”or not. For many it may seem impossible to believe that all things came into existence by God creating them, but truly believing it is what makes it possible to believe. Christianity is based on what you believe. If you don’t believe the first verse of the Bible how are you a Christian? The word Christian means: A follower of Christ. How do you follow someone you do not believe in? Lord, help me with any area I may have non-belief.

  

Monday, December 16, 2013

What do You Believe About You



The Part-time Christian is all about believing, so today we are going to explore what you believe about you. Have you ever given any thought to what you actually believe about yourself? I mean about who you really are, or about who you want to be? Do you believe you are living your perfect life, your realistic life? How about your family, what do you believe about your kids, who are they, what will they become? What about your job, do you believe it is the best job for you, do you believe you will be doing the same job for the rest of your life? What do you believe about your looks, your health, and your weight? Do you believe you will live a long life? If you have answered most of these questions with positive answers than you may have a pretty good life, but if you are struggling with them, let’s spend this week pondering them and see what you can do to start living your truth about you today.

Start by taking a good long look at yourself. Look in the mirror and ask what do I believe about me? Then be honest about your answer and write it down. Then ask yourself, what do I believe about the life I live, is it my best life, could it be better, if so what could be better about it? Write it down. Then ask yourself, do I believe I am living God’s best life for me? Be honest with yourself and write it down.

Now some of these are hard to swallow. They can be uplifting or depressing. They can be an eye opener or a real let down. Sometimes seeing the real you is tough, but if you are honest with yourself, it can be a realization. To know what you believe is to understand the realization of the truth of you. When you best understand you, you can begin the process of becoming the best you, you can be.

Some of us spend our whole life in the belief that we are someone or something we are not. I once saw a sign that said, “There is a skinny person inside of me, but the fat person on the outside keeps suppressing her with chocolate.” Now most of us would laugh at that, but there is an overwhelming truth to it. What are your deepest desires? Are you living them or suppressing them? I believe there is a vastly creative world out there, but is suppressed by the day to day rhetoric of life. God has blessed each and every one of use with unique gifts and talents that we are wasting away, because we are afraid to live in them. We are afraid to be our unique self, because of lack of money, lack of desires, lack of trust in God, and lack of realization. That which God has blessed us with can only be done by us, but if we don’t live it, we will fail God, ourselves, and those He has prepared to be blessed by us. That was my realization, but today I am living in my gift and being a blessing to you.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

The Journey to Full-time Believing


  They say the first step in recovery or in this case redemption is to first admit you have a problem, well here’s mine. I call myself a Christian and have been one for many years, but I do not always live like one.  I believe in God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Bible, but believing it in my heart and living it in my life are two very different things. The Bible says that a Christians “should be in this world but not of this world,” yet when I look in the mirror, I sometimes see more of the world in me than Christ, my Lord and Savior.
The word Part-time means: A period of time that is less than full-time. The word Christian means: a follower of Christ. Based on these two definitions, I am following Christ less than full-time. That means my heart, my head, and my life, are not always reflecting of a Christian in my every day existence. So, given this recent discovery, I have decided to go on a journey from being a Part-time Christian to become a Full-time Believer.

I asked a few friends to come along with me to help me understand, gain knowledge, and grow in the wisdom of becoming a Full-time Christian, some of them you might know. I asked Evil and his sister Wicked. Envy and her best friend’s Deceit and Conniving want to come. Liar said no, because he knows Truth would be leading the way. Trials and tribulations said they want to come, oh and I can’t forget Trouble he’s coming along too, so is Issues, Circumstances, and Situations they said yes at the last minute. I asked Church, but she said she was busy every Sunday, but I think we will stop by to see her from time to time. Hate and Racism are supposed to come, but they keep fighting over who’s going to sit in the front and back seats. Adultery, Fornication, and Sexual Immorality, well, they say they are coming, but they all have a mind of their own, so I won’t hold my breath. Depression hasn’t answered yet, she said she may be out of place with Love, Joy, Peace, and Kindness going along. Hell doesn’t want to come, because he knows Heaven is coming, but I’m going to force him if I have too. Well these are just a few that I know of and we were wondering if maybe, you would like to come too. The tickets are free and I know Jesus would love to see you, so leave me a comment and let me know what you think. Oh and before I forget, you have to stop by here every Monday for updates and news about our travels, see you next week if you’re coming.