TWC 5.20.08

Hello everyone,

 

I know I have hit on this topic before but I feel compelled to write on it again.  How do we deal with stress? We find many ways to let off steam after a hard days work, a long week, a fight with a loved one or co-worker. In my life I have tried many things to help me “feel better” and even today I try certain things that seem to work for the moment but the situation or the stress doesn’t seem to go away for too long. I think most of you will agree with that.

 

Let’s stop and think about some of the good and bad things that we do to try and reduce stress in our lives. Some of the good things to do to help are working out, sleeping, and having a nice dinner, going on a vacation, or spending time with friends and family. Some of the bad things people do in order to relieve stress are partying, drug usage, casual sex, and many other things.

 

I want to use this verse to try and make my point today.

 

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30 (NLT)

                Jesus told us, who are weary and carry heavy burdens, to come to him. He was talking to each and everyone of us. To those of us who maybe lost and also to those of us who may think we are found. Jesus knew that without him we could not live stress free lives. How will He teach us you ask? The first way he can teach us is for us to read the bible daily. This is the best way to find the answers to the questions we have in life. The second way he will teach us is in prayer. We need to pray and to talk to him often. He then said that He is humble and gentle, which means that he will take His time to show us what we have to do. He will teach us. Jesus told us that he will, but we as a people need to be willing to learn. This passage ends with Him saying that the burdens we bear will be light. Meaning that He will never give us what we can not handle. Jesus is the light, the direction, and the ever present shinning from above of which we all need in order to be at peace with ourselves and with His father.

Again thank you all for reading this today, I hope to talk to each of you soon.

TWC 5.11.08

Hello everyone,

 

 I hope that you are all at peace with God, yourselves and the world. After church today I was at home starting a new study on “Hearing God’s Call”. We all know God has very different and amazing ways of talking to each of us. As I finished my study I am sure that He spoke to me and laid a message on my heart that was different than anything I was studying.

 

I want to first have you all read a few verses from the Psalm’s:

 

Psalm 46:1

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

 

Psalm 46:11

The Lord of host is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Se’lah.

 

Psalm 9:9-10

The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know they name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.

 

            I could continue on for hours but I feel that you all get the point. The key words I am talking about here are refuge and trouble. I know many of us have some form of trouble in our lives right now. We may not want to admit it to our friends, family, or even ourselves but God knows what is in our hearts and minds. And He wants nothing more for you to call on Him for His help. What do we seek refuge in? Do we get so angry that we forget that our refuge can and should be with God? Do we bottle it up? Do we keep our troubles so deep inside that they continue to eat at us and make our situation worse? Or do we rather remain focused and lay our troubles at God’s feet and place our worries in His loving hands?

 

            I don’t know what you do and I wouldn’t expect any of you to tell me what you do. But I will tell you that I have tried many things. I have tried the keeping it all inside and I have tried to deal with them myself. I have tried getting so angry that I could not even begin to see straight. I will also be completely honest in telling you that none of that has ever worked. Maybe, at most, a temporary patch on what would and many times did turn into bigger troubles. If you have ever read the book of Ecclesiastes, you will see that Solomon tried many things to find refuge in. He had knowledge, wealth, many worldly possessions and yet still could not seek the refuge he needed to find. I am no Solomon, but I have also tried to find the refuge I needed in many other areas. Be it in work, play, or drink. I could not find it. I have been bles sed with many very good friends, two of which that I will give credit to. I have said these two peoples name’s before and I will say them again here. If it were not for Melanie taking me to the church that night , and if it were not for Nicole looking at me when the 2^nd and the 3^rd altar call was given, I would more than likely still be lost. I will pray that God will bless them daily for what they have helped me to find. Nothing else I have ever tried has ever worked. I will profess that as loud as I can. Hear me clearly when I tell you all that I was beyond lost. I still have a very long way to go, but with the refuge that I have found in God, my path and the answers that I seek are becoming more and more clear ever day.

 

            This message may be something you need to hear or you know someone that needs to hear it. If you hear God talking to you, I ask you to please take His hand or offer yours to someone else. After that, if you let Him, God will show you the way. He is constantly trying to talk to us and wants a relationship with us. We are his children.

 

Isaiah 12:2

Behold. God is my salvation, I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song, he also become my salvation.

 

 

Thank you all for taking the time to read and pass on the words that God has given me. I hope and pray that during times of trouble, that this world so often seems to have, each of us will continue to find our refuge in the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

 

Will

THE CHRISTIAN WALK 5.8.08

Hello everyone,

 

I am thinking that today, I need to make some waves. Some of you know that I have always been interested in what many call the “end times”, even before I was saved. I guess deep down, I know that the end will come one day. And the more and more I think about I am not afraid to admit that I believe that the end of things as we know it will happen in this generation.

 

You might be asking me, “Seriously man, how can you be so sure? How do you know what you are talking about to be true?” The honest answer to both of those questions is that I don’t know for sure but I do know that the word of God to be true. That is the only proof that I need. Look at the state of the world that we live in now. I will take just one verse from the Word and let you ponder it, and then you can tell me if you think the state of the world as a whole as ever been any worse that it is right now.

 

Matthew 24:6-7

And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

 

I am no prophet by any means and I will never claim to be. I do watch and read much more news than the average person. And after seeing what is going on in the world I feel that the end is coming soon. We are encouraged to not be afraid. For those people whom are truly saved will be able to rejoice in the near future. When will that be?

 

Matthew 24:36-44

But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they did not know until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of man. Then two men will be in the field; one is taken and one is left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one is taken and one is left. Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the householder had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

 

That’s right my friends, there is only one who know the hour of the Lords return, God himself. Shouldn’t we be ready? Shouldn’t we do our part to make sure all of the people we care about are ready? I say we should. Life as we know it is coming to an end very soon.

 

If you love someone, hold onto them and pray with them often. Make wise use of the time that you have left here on earth. Place God in the center of your world and everything else will fall into place. If you are listening, you will hear what you are being told to do. It may not be clear today, but keep your heart and your mind open and you will hear it.

 

Our Lord wants each of us to be very happy. He also wants each of us to be obedient and follow His Word. Do what He says, and your faith will pay off. For someday soon, I feel we all will see the following:

 

 

Rev. 1:7

7Look, he is coming with the clouds,
 and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.

 

 

Thank you all for taking the time to read this, If you believe you are not ready for the Lords return, then I urge you to do everything in your power to get ready.

 

I will pray that each of you will find it in your heart to send this out to someone you know.

 

Will

Receiving God’s Grace

Titus 2:10-14 KJV

10Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.  11For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Hello all,

 

I have been thinking of a few different topics of which I have been praying about. I wasn’t sure which topic God was telling me to write about, until this morning.  After doing my morning reading I felt compelled to go into my office, pull out a tiny daily devotional book that I’ve had forgotten I even had and read what today’s message was about. It said, “Do we take advantage of God’s grace?”

 

Today I want to talk about just that, God’s grace. We all know that through Jesus we can receive salvation. I think that this verse above makes some of what we should be doing pretty clear. For example in verse 12,”denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world”. How often do we forget to do this and for whatever reason fall backwards? Are we really asked by God to do anything too terribly difficult? I don’t think so. I think, however, how we deal with situations may make them more difficult than they need to be, but that doesn’t have to be the case. The closer we can get to God, the easier it will be for us to see what He wants for us, and understand what exactly he is saying when He speaks to us. It may take some time but it will come to you.  

 

In addition to that, how often do we take advantage of the His grace and gifts? Do you really strive to be right with God day in and day out? After living a life away from God for so long, I can say that it can be very hard sometimes to live for God all the time. It can be so easy to just drift back to the world without even knowing that you are doing it, but it doesn’t have to be. If you are putting God first in your life, then what God wants from you will come first. Most of the time, it will be totally different than anything you have ever wanted. You may think that you can’t do it, or just don’t want to do it. But in order to receive the His grace you must listen. Try your hardest to talk to Him today and everyday. If you need help, ask God. Make it a point to praise God everyday, not only when things are going good in your life but also when they are going wrong. You will be blessed for doing so.

 

Lastly today, I wanted to make the point that all things worth having are very much worth the wait. God works in a time line that we can not even begin to understand. Do not try to rush God. Be thankful for what you have today. Pray for what you want to have for the future, and His will, will be done. Live for God first and put God first. If you do that, all other things will fall into place and the right doors will be opened for you. Make God your number one priority for you are always His.

 

May love and Peace find you all today,

 

 

I would ask that in your prayers today, you add in a small prayer for change, be it change in life as a whole, change in our paths. I feel that things are moving in many different directions for many people that we know. Pray that each of us find our way.

 

Thank you

 

Let today be your day

Matthew 6:33-34

 

33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

 

Hello everyone,

 

I hope and pray that you all have seen and heard our Lord working in your lives since we have last spoke. I know He has been working in mine. Many times we hear things that we don’t want to follow. But when you know for a fact that our Lord is speaking, we had better listen. This is His world and we are His people and we must, without a shadow of a doubt, follow His word and make sure His will is done. First and foremost in our lives we put what we want first and the will of God comes second. We try to confuse our own thoughts to twist His will to fit into our daily lives. That is the worst mistake we can make as people. We can not even begin to have a clue as to what our Creator has in store for us.

 

You ask me how do I know what to do? PRAY!! Talk to God about everything. When you arise talk to God, when you sleep talk to Him, when you are at work talk to Him. If you do as the verse God has given me to write about says, “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness” you will begin to see what His plan is for your life. When you don’t hear what you are seeking, remember that it is not up to you. Give yourself to God and follow the path that has been laid out for you. His plan was laid out so long ago, and it is not for us to try and change it. One way or another we will fail if we seek our will instead of His. Today is the only day that we may have and please make the best of this day; don’t fall into the trap of worrying and putting things off until tomorrow. “Each day has enough trouble of its own”, how true is that? Each day in your life there will be something that doesn’t go your way. But I sit here this morning and tell you my friends; it has nothing to do with your way. The only way we need to be on is the way that God wants us to be on. It may take you minutes, days or years to find your way. I caution everyone to fall so deep into His word that you don’t lose your way while trying to hear what He has and will continue to tell you to do. He promised to take care of us. Take him at his word and hold Him to it.

 

You will be blessed

Love Everyone

 

Romans 12:12-21

17Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20On the contrary:
   ”If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
   In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

 

I must say, that this passage above does seem to be very simple to understand. But how hard is it for us to do.

 

Have you been wronged by someone who used to be a friend, a loved one, or someone that you work with. I know I have, and have been on the other end of the stick more than once.

 

How do we handle it when someone has treated us poorly? Do we just tell them how we feel about it and don’t care for them any more and don’t want to be around them? Do we get short tempered and fly off the handle and let our worldly ways come out. I think more often than not we do. But what should we do?

 

We have all heard the term kill them with kindness. If we profess to be people of God we have no choice but to love everyone. That doesn’t mean we must surround ourselves with these people. But these people know what they have done and how they have acted. Don’t allow yourself to be a door mat and be walked on but be kind in expressing you concerns over the situations. Let them know that you love them and you will pray that they find there way. And if there need anything you will be there for them, but can not be associated with them daily. For you are growing in a relationship with our creator and will also pray that they find the peace that you have found. But it is important for your growth that you part ways.

 

By doing anything short of that, you run the risk of conforming to the enemy which is what he wants. He has placed these people in your life to throw you off of you path with God. Do not let them win. You have the power of God on your side, you are stronger than anything that the enemy can toss at you, and I promise that. But don’t take my word for it for I am just a man and can do and will do nothing without God. Find your answers in his word and in your times of prayer. God will handle the rest. 

Get Involved

Hello everyone,

 

            It again has been a few weeks since I have written anything. I guess all too often we can find many excuses why not to do something we know in our hearts we should. Or find reasons to stray from the direction we deep down in our conscious know we should be heading. I won’t get into my reasoning behind the delays in the emails being sent for they are not important or even worth the time to get into. But what is important is the message that I know God as laid on my heart.

 

Romans 12:3-8

 3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 4Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

 

We all have something to offer someone. We may not even know what it is. But we each have a gift something we can use to better the body. All believers in God form one “body in Christ”. I have had several conversations with people over the last few weeks on how and why they do not go to church and why they don’t need to. I agree to a point that one does not need to attend a church to have a relationship with God. But I would impress upon all of us the importance of attending a strong Bible based church is a very important aspect in a Christian’s life. The importance of fellowship in growing as a member of the body can not be reproduced on ones own. In addition to that serving others is something that we have all been called upon to do. What gifts have you been given by God? We all have something that we can offer the body, and in this instance yes I am referring to giving your time to the church. There are many areas where one can help. And in doing so you are working on bringing people to God. This is something that we all must do. Believing in God in my opinion just isn’t enough. I am not telling any one that they must move into the church. But getting involved with the church be it normal weekly functions or be it some of the many out reach efforts many of the local churches get involved with is something we all should do.

 

Where in the Bible does it say, stand on the sideline and allow someone else to do the work? It doesn’t. Getting involved in something will help you grow as a Christian as a person. Do you have children? If so how great would it be for your kids to grow up seeing there parents involved with the church. If you do it they will do it. God will bless you and your family for your works.

 

Whatever it is that you decide to do, please make sure you do it with an open heart and mind. Do not allow yourself to feel burdened by serving God. Be happy and grateful that you have something to offer and we all do. Even if it is only time you think you have. Start with giving your time and God will lead you to where you need to be.

 

I know all of you know of the troubled times our country is facing. Many churches are in need of revival. A friend of mine recently told me of troubles in his home church. God will handle all of the problems that this church and we are facing. But we must do our part. Don’t flee and stay on the sideline. We are all commanded to be one body with many parts. With that said please make sure you are doing yours.

 

12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

 

 

Be blessed and cheerful in your day,

 

William