Psalm 40:1-3
Psalm 40:1-3 (New International Version)
1. I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
2. He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
3. He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible.
There is an old saying "If you're in a hole, stop digging" Like me a lot
of people, fall into a pit or hole they have made for themselves. People
get into relationships, drugs, bad habits, etc. when they realize where
they are it's to late. For example, me...I just started hanging out with
some bad friends...then....started smoking, just to be cool... then a
beer or two.... then marijuana...them Cocaine....then dealing
drugs....then stealing to support my habit...then jail time...the list
goes on.... I was in so deep, I couldn't make it out on my own.
Then one day I cried out to God, because I had no where to look,
but up. Jesus turned to me reached down and lifted me out of the pit I
had created for myself, he forgave my sins, took away my shame, he set
my feet on the foundation of his word and put a new song in my mouth.
Jesus gave me a new life, a new attitude, a place that was safe and
secure.
If your in a place where you feel trapped or feel like your in a
pit and feel there is no way out...take it from me there is! JESUS! If
you hear a voice, or people say that there is no way out for you, Don't
believe it! It's a lie! You can make it out no matter how far down we
are, Jut cry out to God for help. His words are true. He will rescue
you!
Later,
DJ Jackson
Matthew 5:29
Matthew 5:29 (New International Version)
29. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole
body to be thrown into hell.
Wow! That is a serious passage "GOUGE OUT MY EYE!"
In the movie Fireproof, Kirk Cameron's (Character) Caleb Holt
had a sin in his life, Lust. He was looking at porn on the internet.
Caleb got saved and the Lord started dealing with Caleb's heart and the
Holy Spirit was convicting him of his sin. So what did Caleb do? He
"GOUGED OUT HIS EYE"! not literally but he did something that the
passage in Matthew 5:29 is talking about. Caleb took his computer
outside, took a baseball bat and smashed it and then threw it in the
garbage!
One thing I had to gouge out of my life, was my friends. I tried
to make it as a Christian, but kept hanging out with my old friends and
kept slipping back to my old habits and sins. It wasn't until I told my
friends "I can't hang out with you any more, I'm a Christian now." that
my Christian life started growing. You see, my friends all stilled
partied, got high, etc. when I was around them now matter how hard I
tried, their influence was to strong. I had to "GOUGE" them out of my
life.
A friend of mine once said " Every time I go in a Bar I want to drink"
My answer was "DON'T GO IN BARS!" Gouge Bars out of your life!
Let me ask you a question. What's in your life you need to
"GOUGE OUT"? Friends, relationships, lust, drugs, etc.? Don't worry God
will help you when you ask him. Just take the first step, like Caleb and
I did.
Later,
DJ Jackson
1 John 1:9-Forgiveness
Forgiveness
1 John 1:9 (New International Version)
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our
sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Have you ever messed up, sinned, made a mistake, did something or said
something you regret? I have plenty of times! Believe me!
I was taught a valuable lesson on this a few years ago... I'll never
forget.
I was a new Christian and I was really trying hard to serve God
but I messed up. I sinned. I felt so bad I could barley hold my head up.
I asked God to forgive me but didn't feel forgiveness. I went to Youth
Group that night, sit in the back felt all alone when this other kid
came up to me and said; "God wants you to know you are forgiven" WOW! I
felt so free! a smile came to my face I could lift my head up again,
didn't feel ashamed anymore.
To this day I don't know if that other kid was an Angel or if he had a
word of knowledge for me or what, all I know is how it freed me from my
sin and guilt.
Now that I have been serving God for a few more years now, I
have learned to turn to God's word for help. When I sin or mess up I
turn to 1 John 1:9 and have done so many times! Just like the kid who
told me I was forgiven God's word has power to forgive.
In Christ
Later,
DJ Jackson
James 5: 19-20
19My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
James closes his book with one last thought. In these two verses he sums up our responsibility as Christians, followers of Christ. So how do we save someone? What does it mean to wander from the truth? James is saying that if you or one of your friends is starting to move away from God, you need to talk with them about it. If one of your friends was about to walk in front of a bus, you'd do whatever you could to get their attention. Yet too often we let people who we call our friends run away from God and just shrug our shoulders as they go.
Is there someone in your life who needs some correction?
-Jeff-
James 5:17-18
17Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.
A few weeks ago I had the privilege of seeing Benny Perez in person. He is the reason I'm in youth ministry, and a spiritual mentor of mine. Growing up under his ministry I saw God do some amazing things, yet he's just a man. It's easy to fall in love with a person, because we see God moving through them, and forget about the God that is moving. Here in James the Bible says that Elijah was a man just like us, yet when he prayed things happened. Jesus said in John 14: 12I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
He was talking to all Christians who put their faith in Him, so what are you asking God for today?
-Jeff-
James 5:15-16
15And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
When we pray, God wants to move. So what stops Him? It says here the prayer offered in FAITH will make the sick person well. What is faith? Heb 11:1 says 1 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. When we pray, we need to believe that what we are praying will actually happen. But it's not enough just to think it in your head, you need to KNOW it deep down inside you. I remember a few weeks ago praying for someone and God brought back to me all the times that I had prayed and seen healings. I started speaking some of those things out and then said something like "You're the same God whose used me to see people healed in the past, and I believe you're going to do it today." That statement was God's way of building faith inside of me, so that when I prayed I KNEW He was going to move.
-Jeff-
James 5: 13-14
13Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
This is a great passage, and it comes alive when you look at it alongside 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: 16Be joyful always; 17pray continually; 18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. James says that we should pray continually. If you're going through a tough time, pray. If you're doing good and things are going your way, pray. If you're sick, have people pray for you. If we learn what it means to pray and give thanks in all circumstances, we'll become the people that God wants us to be.
-Jeff-
James 5:10-12
10 For examples of patience in suffering, dear brothers and sisters, look at the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy.
12 But most of all, my brothers and sisters, never take an oath, by heaven or earth or anything else. Just say a simple yes or no, so that you will not sin and be condemned.
Yesterday we talked about trying to press God for things when He wants us to wait on His timing. But what about when you're going thru something and you're waiting for Him to act? How is your patience then? Are you willing to trust in God to keep you from harm, or do you look to bail at the first opportunity?
Look at the prophets. Hebrews paints a pretty rosy picture of what they went through:
But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. 36 Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. 37 Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. 38 They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.
When you're in trouble, where do you turn? Is God the first and only place you turn, or do you have a plan B?
-Jeff-
James 5:7-9
7 Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. 8 You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.
9 Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. For look—the Judge is standing at the door!
Patience is a virtue. What good does it do for us to pace back and forth and wait to go on that Disneyland trip that's not for another two months? How is that beneficial? In fact, there's two problems I see with impatience:
1) You focus on the future and miss what's happening around you right now. God is moving, but if we're not careful we'll miss it.
2) You try and push to make things happen sooner. And they don't happen in God's timing.
So trust in the Lord, wait on Him and you will see Him move in His timing.
-Jeff-
James 5:1-6
1 Look here, you rich people: Weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you. 2 Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags. 3 Your gold and silver have become worthless. The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. This treasure you have accumulated will stand as evidence against you on the day of judgment. 4 For listen! Hear the cries of the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. The wages you held back cry out against you. The cries of those who harvest your fields have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
5 You have spent your years on earth in luxury, satisfying your every desire. You have fattened yourselves for the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and killed innocent people, who do not resist you.
The title at the beginning of this passage says "Warnings for Rich People". I'd say that's pretty appropriate. You may be saying to yourself, I don't own a field or have any employees, what's this have to do with me? We live in the richest nation on earth, and yet we can't be bothered to give to anyone else. You may not have employees, but that doesn't mean you don't have a responsibility to those around you. Look for an opportunity to do good to those around you today.
-Jeff-
James 4:13-17
13 Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” 14 How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. 15 What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” 16 Otherwise you are boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil.
17 Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.
So should we stop planning? Is the Bible saying that you shouldn't say you're going to college? Or that you are going on a Missions Trip this Summer? Absolutely not. God wants you to plan, but to do it with Him in mind. To keep Him at the front of your thinking. Instead of asking which college has the best nursing program, look for the college that God wants you to get involved in.
If we take pride in our own abilities, that is evil. And it's also a sin to find out what God wants you to do and then not to do it. So, to wrap it up, pray that God would show you what you're supposed to do, then do it.
-Jeff-
James 4:11-12
11 Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you. 12 God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?
Our job is to obey God's law, not to judge whether or not it applies to us. Who are we to judge others? Where do we get off being all high and mighty? In Matthew 7:1-6 Jesus tells us not to judge others, and He compares it to someone trying to take sawdust out of someone's eye while ignoring the beam sticking out of their own eye.
I think sometimes we get wrapped up in thinking that things needs to be fair. If I do something, others should do it the same way. Yet God alone is the judge, and what should it matter to us if He chooses to save some and others go to destruction? We need to be responsible for our own lives, and let God take care of everyone else.
-Jeff-
James 4:7-10
7Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
If you didn't read yesterdays post, you will probably want to before reading this one.
In verse 6 God says that He gives grace to the humble, now He says that we should submit to Him. Too often as Christians we skip to the second part of verse 7, the resist the devil part, and we forget the submit part. God wants to use us to beat back the enemy. He wants to use us as a mighty army to push the devil back, but He's more interested in what happens to us than what He can get out of us, and if we won't submit to Him we'll never see Him move.
The rest of this passage is a picture of repentance, but have you ever been sorry like THAT for your sin? I remember a couple of times being in the move of God and feeling Him push on me, and crying out. Have you ever experienced sorrow like that for your sin? I fear that we've made it to easy for people to get saved. We've reduced it to this little formula, say a prayer and you're done. I think that's a good start, but if you've never made it to this next step, then you've never experienced the true freedom that God has for us.
-Jeff-
James 4:4-6
4You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? 6But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
"God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble."
The Bible says that we are the bride of Christ, His chosen people. We are called to live lives completely sold out to Him, and yet so often we don't do it because we spend to much time with the world. Imagine if you had a boyfriend/girlfriend. Now imagine is he/she said that they loved you, and twice a week they would come to your house for an hour and a half and spend time with you. That would be pretty great, right? Now imagine that they spent the whole time they were at your house looking at their watch, doodling on a piece of paper or texting their friends. And suppose that as soon as there was an opportunity for them to get out of there, they'd run as fast as they could. What would you think of your Boyfriend/Girlfriend then?
Here in James the bible calls us an adulterous people. He's questioning our priorities. Where do your friends rate on the scale of your priorities? How about family? What about God?
Verse 6 gives us an interesting insight into God, He says that even though you've been horrible to me, I forgive you and give you grace, as long as your humble. If your priorities have been out of whack, humble yourself before God and He will forgive you.
James 4:1-3
1What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? 2You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. 3When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
Have you ever wanted something REALLY bad? Enough that you were willing to do anything to get it? Even pray about it? God, if you'll just give me that ___________, I'll serve you forever. The Bible says that seeing your prayers answered isn't hard to understand, ask for the things God wants you to ask for and you'll receive them. It may not be hard to understand, but it is hard to follow through with.
How do you know what God wants you to ask for? I remember in the past I would pray for people to be healed, so that the testimony might benefit God's kingdom. That seems noble, right? And yet rarely did God answer those prayers. The reason is I didn't know what God wanted, because I hadn't spent enough time with Him to know His will. Sometimes God directs me to pray that way now, but I do it to follow His will, not because it sounds good.
-Jeff-
