Do You Want To Make A Difference?

Everyone has an ambition to make their lives count. What a waste it would be to live a life that was meaningless! We are not put on this earth just to fill up space. Everyone has a reason for being here. That is the way God created us. What is your reason for being born? You may say you don’t believe you have a reason but you do. Everyone has a reason even if they don’t know it. James 4:10 gives us a little insight into how we can make our lives count.

Humble yourselves [feeling very insignificant] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up and make your lives significant]. (Amplified)

This is an amazing scripture because it shows us, God is the only One who can make our lives significant! Did you hear me, God is the only One who can make your life significant! When we realise this truth, it becomes easier for us because we begin to see it’s not about how much we know, or the family we came from, or the place we lived in, or how much money we have and so on and so on……it’s really about God!!! We need to come to a place where God is at the centre and He is the main thing about us! We need to realise we cannot do it in our strength. Purpose is for everyone and not a selected few!!! Someone once said, God qualifies the called. He really does! You may not be the brightest person, or the richest, or the strongest but God can and will make your lives significant if you let Him!

Come close to God and He will come close to you. [Recognize that you are] sinners, get your soiled hands clean; [realize that you have been  disloyal] wavering individuals with divided interests, and purify your hearts [of your spiritual adultery].                                                                                                                  [As you draw near to God] be deeply penitent and grieve, even weep [over your disloyalty]. Let your laughter be turned to grief and your mirth to dejection and heartfelt shame [for your sins]. James 4:8,9

This is all part of the humbling process. God will exalt the humble but bring down the proud. He has created us to make a difference. Do you want to make your lives count, turn to God.

Rolain

 

Putting Worry Behind Us.

I know I have spoken about worry in previous posts but it just keeps on surfacing in my life, and it is one thing that a lot of Christians struggle with.
In one of my posts I mentioned that worry was negative goal setting because when you worry you are focusing on the bad thing and not thinking of the solution. You are in effect goal setting negatively!
But I want to go deeper than that today. Worry is a sin!!!

Let that sink in for a bit. We sin when we worry. You might have a legitimate reason for worrying but to God it is sin!
-Being worried if you will get married, that is sin,
-worried that something bad will happen to your kids, that is sin,
-worried that God won’t come through for you, that is sin,
-worried that you will get evicted because the rent has not being paid, that is sin,
-worried that God will abandon you, that is sin,

The list goes on and on. What are we worrying about? God wants us to take all these worries to Him.
God is a gracious God and that is why He is patient with us but He desires us to grow. He wants us to learn that we can trust Him.

When we worry we become double minded. We don’t focus on but on the problem. God wants us to be steady. James 1:6-8 puts it perfectly.

⁵ If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of ^[b]the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him.

⁶ Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind.

⁷ For truly, let not such a person imagine that he will receive anything [he asks for] from the Lord,

⁸ [For being as he is] a man of two minds (hesitating, dubious, irresolute), [he is] unstable and unreliable and uncertain about everything [he thinks, feels, decides].

When you doubt it opens the door to worry. They are very closely related. If we are to put worry behind us we need to make a decision. Would you like to join me in a little exercise? What we will need to do is think of EVERYTHING we worry about and after we have done that we will put them on paper. I would advise you to write them on two pieces of paper.

Once you have done that you will put a date on them and then burn the one paper. Bring all the worries you wrote down to God and surrender them to Him. The burning of the paper is symbolic of surrendering all your worries to God. Whenever a worry comes up from today, you will refer to the other paper you have kept to remind you that the worry doesn’t have any power over you.

God wants us to trust Him and not to worry. He is able to provide for us fully. Will you trust Him? Will you put worry behind you?  Worry is a sin. Doubt is a sin. Decide today to live a life of faith…..

Rolain

Is Your Faith Really Faith?

I have spoken about faith a lot. Without faith it is impossible to please God but I read something that made me ask the question, is my faith really faith? As I write this, my prayer is you will see faith in a new light.
It was whilst reading the book of James that I questioned if my faith was really faith. This passage of scripture is very popular. I have read it many times but this time round it was different. I was really challenged by what I read. This particular portion of scripture speaks about faith and works. In James 2:14 it says:

What is the use (profit), my brethren, for anyone to profess to have faith if he has no [good] works [to show for it]? Can [such] faith save [his soul]?

It then goes on to say in James 2:18:

But someone will say [to you then], You [say you] have faith, and I have [good] works. Now show me your [alleged] faith apart from any [good] works [if you can], and I by [good] works [of obedience] will show you my faith.

According to James who was inspired by the Holy Spirit, real faith works hand in hand with action. You cannot have one or the other. It is not just believing and doing nothing. He paints a picture of two people. It almost seems like a competition is taking place. It is “faith” which is faith without action vs “works” faith with works. And in this competition “faith” without action loses. He is saying our faith is not really faith until it is accompanied by action (works)! Believing is not enough because according to James 2:19 he says:

You believe that God is one; you do well. So do the demons believe and shudder [in terror and horror such as make a man’s hair stand on end and contract the surface of his skin]!

There are a lot of things we are trusting God for but we need to realise that sitting and waiting is NOT faith! In the things that we have faith for there is a part we have to play.
Please understand, I am not advocating we do things in our flesh and not trust in God. What I am saying is, in the things we are trusting God for there is a part for us to play. Let me give you an example.

Saul and Jonathan and the army of Israel were trapped by the Philistines but to make matters worse Saul and Jonathan were the only ones with swords (1 Samuel 13:22). Saul and Jonathan had “faith” in God. Saul’s “faith” led him to enquire of the Lord through the priest Ahijah (1 Samuel 14:18,19) while Jonathan’s “faith” led him to act. Jonathan’s “faith” led his nation to victory ( 1 Samuel 14:23).
I hope you see as Jonathan stepped out and did his part God STEPPED UP and did His part and that is how it is supposed to be, that is real faith! Our faith needs to be accompanied by works!

James 2:21 says:

Was not our forefather Abraham [shown to be] justified (made acceptable to God) by [his] works when he brought to the altar as an offering his [own] son Issac?
You see that [his] faith was cooperating with his works, and [his] faith was completed and reached its supreme expression [when he implemented it] by [good] works.

You may have faith that God will turn your life around but know you have a part to play. You may be trusting God to bring your destiny to pass but know you have a part to play. You need to act. If you don’t know your part ask God. He will show you what you need to do. You may trusting God for healing, also know you have a part to play. It might be changing your confession. (Some of us make things worse for ourselves by speaking death over ourselves.) It may be changing how you eat. I don’t know, but what I do know is you have a part to play. You may be in poverty and trusting God for financial breakthrough but you have a part to play. You may need to give more, maybe pay your tithes (which a lot of christians don’t do), it might be saving money….etc
Are you starting to see it? I really hope you can. God is faithful and will not abandon us. When we do our part which is a sign of our faith in Him, He will do His part which is the main part, which is the miracle part. I will end with James 2:26 which says:

For as the human body apart from the spirit is lifeless, so faith apart from [its] works of obedience is also dead.

Rolain.