Words of Encouragement

What are you thinking?  Are your thoughts scattered, or are they on Godly things? It profits the heart, if our minds are on Jesus.

"And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. - 1 Chronicles 28:9

What's On Your Mind? Thoughts That Acknowledge God.

Solomon was a man with wisdom as well as one of the most foolish men.  How can you be both wise and foolish?  Solomon shows us what happens when you have thoughts that are about God and when you have selfish thoughts.

Solomon's life was one that was greatly blessed by God.  When he acknowledge God, he had great wisdom and blessings from God.  When he was not acknowledging God in his thoughts, which translated to his action, he made foolish decisions.  He married many women that led him away from God and into idolatry.

It is something important for us to see in this verse.  The scripture says "a willing mind". What does it mean to have a willing mind?  It let's us know that we have an active part in what is on our minds.  Did you know if you are choosing to have thoughts that upset you, you are in fact willing to do so?  We might not really understand that, but it is true.

If your thoughts are taking you "captive" it is because you have given those thoughts the control and they are being able to have free to be expressed.  Instead, if you begin to willingly think on things that would not allow your mind to be held captive, you begin the process of releasing your mind to acknowledge God and follow him freely.

When we seek God each day with our thoughts, we will find him.  If we reject him in our thoughts, we will not find him.  We reject him in our thoughts when everything else is before him.  But if you and I think about him when we get up, when we sit down, when we walk or talk, we begin to place our thoughts under the control of the most high God.

Today, Lord help us to have thoughts that acknowledge you.  Help us to place them under your control so that we do not have thoughts that unwillingly go to only the bad things in our lives and miss the many things we should be thankful for.  Help us your children to change our minds to reflect more of you.

Words of Encouragement

The things we can think of!  As we allow the desires of our minds to grow, we want more things that would please our fleshly desires.  If we are not careful those desires that may not start off bad, can grow and pick up speed!  Like this fast car, we can look around and our fleshly desires can speed away from us.  Are we being mindful?

The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. - Genesis 6:4-6

What's On Your Mind?  Unholy Thoughts.  What a statement to be made about man. God looked upon the face of the earth and he saw the wickedness and it grieved his heart.  He saw mans heart and his thoughts.

The scripture says that man's every thought was evil all the time.  What was so evil about the thoughts of man?  It was said to be evil not by man's standards but by God.  Whenever man thinks about himself and not about the things of God, God says that is evil.  It may not start off being evil, but when the mind of man becomes fixated on himself, his thoughts begin to turn to thoughts that fulfill the desires of the flesh. Even the things we believe are good, are evil in the sight of God if they are not in line with what he tells us to do.

I do not know about anyone else, but surely I would never want to be in a place where God looks at me and says I grieve him.  I do not want to grieve him because my thoughts are selfish.  You know the kinds of thoughts, "I am only worried about my cares and concerns and I do not have time for anyone else but myself."  You know the thoughts that dwell on me and what has happened to me or about my circumstances.  Instead, even in the midst of my own difficulties, I want to dwell on the goodness of God.  I want to think about his goodness, his mercy and all his attributes so that I can stand in his favor.

Man was wicked.  Man's thoughts were wicked, which lead to wicked deeds, which leads to death.  I do not want to die a senseless death because of foolishness of the heart or mind.  Instead, Lord today we ask you to help us to be mindful of your desire for your children.  Help us to have your thoughts. Lord think through us, give us your thoughts so that we will not sin against you.

Today, Lord we want to change.  All thoughts that would lead us away from you we release them into your hands this day, so that we can have our minds renewed.  Touch us and regulate us, amen.

The Week In Review

A woman that seeks – marks of a virtuous woman

Many have preached about the virtuous woman (Proverb 31) and I have heard the consensus from women and that is, “I cannot keep up with that woman, she does too much!” It can be overwhelming to think, I have to be “THIS” woman? Yet, what is important for us to see about this woman is more than simply what she does, but how is she able to do it?


We have read the scripture, but let’s take a quick inventory of a righteous woman:


1. She is priceless (vs. 10)

2. Her husband trust her completely (vs. 11)

3. She is her husband’s support (vs. 11)

4. She looks for great deals on clothing (vs. 13)

5. She willingly goes distances for great deals on food for her family (vs. 14).

6. She rises early to start the day (vs. 15)

7. She invests in ventures that allow for her families finances to grow (vs. 16).

8. She has energy to do her work (she must exercise regularly) (vs. 17)

9. She does whatever needs to be done to keep her family supplied with what they need (vs. 18-19).

10. She cheerfully gives her service to the building of God’s kingdom (vs. 20).

11. She provides for her family in all season (vs. 21-22).

12. Because of her life, her husband gets to brag to his friends, coworkers and those he fellowship with among the people of God (vs. 23)

13. She is an independent businesswoman (she makes and/or sells things to earn extra money or in our day, she has a job or career) (Vs. 24)

14. She has a good reputation and is respected by others (vs. 25).

15. She has a hopeful spirit; she looks to the future with joy (vs. 25).

16. She has control over her tongue and her actions. And because of it her family praises her. (Vs. 26-28).

17. Her husband not only brags to his friends, but he tells her often how much she means to him, and that there is no other wife for him, but her (vs. 29). – Note to men, if you have a wife doing all these things, then you need to make sure you are doing this verse often.

18. A virtuous woman, a righteous woman praises God and because of it, is rewarded for her sacrifice to her family (vs. 30-31)

So the question is, what does virtuous mean? It is showing moral excellence and righteousness, goodness. So what makes this woman righteous and good? Verse 30 of this section of scripture gives us the source of her righteousness, and that is God.

Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. – Proverbs 31:30

So you are this woman if you are a woman that fears the Lord. And if you looked at your own life, and counted up all the individual things you do, and how important they are to building your household, you would really be surprised at what you do. Many of us look at this woman and think I can’t do that, because we underestimate our value of what we do in our daily lives for our husbands and children.

Is this true? Can we really be this “Virtuous Woman?” Come back next week for the next installment.

Week In Review

“Why are you feeding the dead?” (Part 4)

March 25, 2007

Preached in Wisconsin by Jewel D. Williams

So why are we breaking God’s heart? Because he has given us all the tools we need to be successful in every place he has planet us, but we are not using these tools and we are trying to do things in our own steam and power. We are trying to make our marriages work based on our own understanding and not Gods. Husbands are refusing to look at the biblical example of what is God’s plan for the husband, and are saying instead, no thank you, I’ve got this one, and in doing so, are living by the flesh. To live by the spirit, it calls for you to love you wife as Christ loved the church. Many say this is impossible to do, and that the Bible is too idealistic in this request. Yet, I have to disagree, if God says it, then it can be achieved. It calls for you to follow. Are you sacrificing yourself? Are you sacrificing your time, your actions, and your energy to ensure that your family, your wife and children are loved, and cared for? Yelling at them, abusing them, with your words or actions is not in line with what the Bible teaches. So it does not matter how many times you get up to pray and worship before the Lord, until you get that right, you are hindering your own prayers, and you are eating from the garbage can and offending God.


Wives, I’m not leaving us out, are we honoring and respecting our husbands? Do we love them, as the Lord has required? That means even when they are being what we would consider unreasonable or put another way, a knot head. Guess what, that knot head is the one you married, so you better not talk about them too bad, cause what does that say about you, you married him? That means we cannot belittle them, disrespect them and think we can continue to seek God’s intervention if we are not doing as he is telling us to. God is not pleased with these actions, either. We need to check ourselves to make sure we are in line with God’s requirements. Do not be fooled that because things seem to be going well for you that you can continue to disobey God. We cannot take his mercy and grace for granted. That’s what Paul says, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? (6:1-2). And again anything, anything that is a willful moving away from God’s ways, is sin. If you know you are to be one way, but are choosing to do something different, you are in sin.

God may simply be holding back our punishment because he is giving us time to repent and come back to him. I’m still talking about the battle between the flesh and the spirit. As long as we are trying to do things from our flesh, we are not going to do this marriage thing right. God says stop offending him by eating the garbage we are eating. He says stop eating the advice from you friends, talk shows or people that mean you no godly good that tell you to abandon your commitments, he says stop eating that garbage that tells you, you have a right to find happiness outside of your marriage relationships. Garbage!! God says come and take what we need from the word to help us. So if we are not living as we ought to in our marriages, we need to look up every scripture that talks about love, marriage, sacrifice, and read them over and over again until they come out of our very pores. If we need to be the first ones seated at every marriage conference, then so be it. Because then we are coming to the Lord’s Table and partaking of the sustenance we need to keep our relationship and union with God in tack. That’s what the feast from Matthew reminds me of. Our union with Christ is hinged upon us being at the feast at the table and supping with him and we cannot be offensive at the feast. We must be attired in righteousness. But we will not be if we are eating from the garbage can. We will have the stink of that garbage on our clothes. And when we see the flesh trying to rise up, we need to simple beat it back down, we need to beat it like it stole something, because it is trying to steal your place with God and we need to speak the word of God to it and tell it, it has no place here. If your spouse isn’t what they ought to be, then pray for God to first have his perfect will in their lives. I know the temptation to pray your laundry list of God fix him or her, but instead I realize as much as I want a good marriage, what is more important than that is that my husband does not lose his way with the Lord. That is part of what it means to live by the spirit. When we live by the spirit we are willing to go through some hard times, so that God’s will can be done and not our own. Paul calls that in the 12th chapter, being a living sacrifice. So I want to encourage those that are right now going through that hard place of feeling rejected, alone, and do not see any release in sight. I know that pain, and I know it is hard to hold on. But I say to you, get a hold of the word of God and let it get a hold of you and that is what will hold you through. Turn your focus away from the problem and begin to ask God to help you pray in his perfect will. Ask him to help you pray for that spouse that is not doing, as they should. And then in God’s time, he will bring about his perfect will.

For the spouse that is not doing as the Lord requires, I bring you a warning from God. God says it’s time. It’s time to release yourself into his hands. He is calling you to come to him for the answers regarding your behavior, your attitude, and your flesh problem (because no matter how you want to place the blame else where, the problem is a fleshly one. It is if you are deciding not to obey what God tells you to do, then your problem is not with your spouse but in obedience to God and that is sin). Seek him to help you in your marriage, your job and anything else that is keeping you from committing completely to him. If you say you are his, then you must walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. What you or I cannot see in others, God does not miss at all. He sees every deed, every action, ever thought. What is he saying about yours? Is he saying you are eating from his table of plenty or are your actions offensive to him because you are eating the garbage and trying to pass it off like you are eating from his table?

Words of Encouragement

The changing skies do not cause you to shift like the wind. You do not go one direction and then quickly change because of circumstances.  God you are the "change maker" but you stay the same, perfect in all your ways.

In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation. You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil; with you the wicked cannot dwell. The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; you hate all who do wrong. - Psalm 5:3-5

Things God Will Not Say. "I Made A Mistake!" What confidence the psalmist has in expressing his love for God and for the unchanging way God takes care of those that trust in him.  He says, in the morning when he seeks to talk to God, he knows he can wait in expectation for him to show up. 

He goes on to say, he knows he can trust in him to be there because God is not a god that will take pleasure in evil or wicked deeds.  So surely God will not say, sorry I made a mistake.  I forget about this time we should be spending together, I got so busy I forgot!  Yet, we can quickly come up with this as answer for why we have not stopped today or yesterday to talk to God.  We say, God forgive me, I made a mistake.  I forgot to meet with you.  I  know it was important, but I simply got too busy.

What if this were God's excuses to us for not keeping our promises to him?  We would be heart broken if we were expected something from God and he made a mistake and forgot about us.  Well we can rejoice because God never forgets about us.  We are on his mind at all times, even he is not always on ours.

Today, God we want to take this time to say forgive us for making excuses for not giving ourselves to you.  Thank you God that you are not like man and do not have to seek forgiveness for shortcomings.  Thank you for being the great God of the universe and for protecting us and loving as just as you do.

Words of Encouragement

This was not an accident.  Jesus was not standing there one day before Pilate and unaware of what was coming.  God did not look down at his Son on the cross and say "oops".  In fact the words that come from Jesus' own mouth was "it is finished".  That was a Greek word that was used to mean, "It is paid in full."  Jesus knew his death was paying the sin debt in FULL.

With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.  "As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. For who is God besides the LORD ? And who is the Rock except our God? - 2 Samuel 22:30-32

Things God Will Not Say. Oops! I love how this scripture advances the understanding about God.  He says with your help I can advance against a troop, however with God I can scale a wall.  That wall being one that is fortified and no matter  how much you help me, we won't get over it.  He goes on to say, that God is perfect and his word is flawless.

If we really believe that we would understand just how detailed God was in preparing for you and I a way to him.  The cross of Christ was not an oops!  He didn't create Adam and Eve and then when they sinned he said, oops, I wasn't prepared for that one.  Instead, he knew before he created man that he would need a way to bring them back to him.  He had the cross of Christ on his mind even before he created mankind.

What a perfect God we serve.  So then way do we think God makes mistakes when he tells us to do things his way and then we find ourselves facing difficulties.  We think, God, oops!  This wasn't suppose to happen when I decided to follow you.  You must not have know this was going to happen.  But God's ways are perfect so he knew even before he sent you on this path what you would face.  And he has been preparing you to be able to face it.

So then there are no oops with God.  There are not any mistakes or mix ups.  He didn't accidently choose you for your life.  You were hand picked for your life.  That might be difficult to understand if you are going through.  But today I want you to look at it differently.  You were hand picked to live your life because God looked at you and said, "I count you worthy".  He said, "I count you able."

Today, I pray Lord you already know all the hurts, disappointments and upsets we will face.  You do not stand there saying, "oops".  Instead you say, my ways are perfect and flawless so trust me and I will get you to the otherside of this thing.  Lord we trust you for your ways and thoughts are far greater than ours.

Words of Encouragement

What would you do if you came across a fish this big?  (I can tell you, I wouldn't want to stand around to long, I might begin to look like fish food!) Yet, when I look at this picture, I think of the bounty that God has within his waters.  No I'm not talking about fish in the rivers, but I am talking about spiritual food in the life giving streams.  God has an abundance of provisions to give to us on this Christian walk, if we only ask him for it.

(for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment. This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority. - 2 Peter 2:8-10

Things God Will Not Say. What Do You Think I Should Do? What would happen if God had to ask you and I how to take care of his children?  What would happen if God heard about our torment and he came to you and I and ask, "Jewel, what do you think I should do?" While I might have my own idea of what should happen, I surely do not want this great task upon my shoulders.

If this is true, why do we continually try to tell God how to do things our way?  Why do we question his timing and his methods.  No, we would not openly say God you are incapable of handling my affairs, but do you know that is what our actions do when we refuse to let go of our cares to him.

This scripture today reminds us about those that were tormented because of the righteousness they did.  The scripture goes on to tell that this torment is not going unchecked by God. He already knows about it and he is able to protect those that belong to him.  We may ask, well if this is true, why does so much bad happen to those that love him?  God's ways are far greater than mine so I can only tell you God allows those things because he has a greater plan that he is working out through those situations and circumstances.  We must simply trust his ways.  We do not have to worry because God is not coming to us and saying, what do you think I should do as if he is clueless about what needs to be done in our lives.

Today, I pray for us to hold tight to his hand and know he will keep us and protect us.  God you are our God, if you had enough power to save us, surely you can keep us.

Words of Encouragement

(pictures submitted to me through e-mail). What would you do if you saw a picture like this?  Most of us now look at it and say, it is touched up by tricks of the camera.  And that may be true. But just for right now, let's just image you are walking along the beach and this is the greeting that God gave to you.  What would he want you to know?  He would want you to know he loves you.  Well if you have not already noticed it, he has done some wonderful things already to show you his love for you, his greatest, the gift of his Son.

I will proclaim the name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God!  He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he. - Deuteronomy 32:3-4

Things God Will Not Say. "I Can Do Better Than This". Can you image God making mistakes?  To say that out loud is almost blasphemy.  Yet, sometimes we think it in our minds.  We wonder, God why do we have to do something this way, isn't there a better way?  Why do I have to be afflicted, hurt, discouraged through this life?  You couldn't give me a better life?

Today, let me tell you a truth about God.  He will never say, I can do better than this about himself.  Yes he will say it about us.  He will tell us that he can do better than what we are doing with our lives, but not about himself and his handiwork.

The writer of the scripture today gives us a reminder of this wonderful truth.  God is perfect.  In all his ways he is upright and just.  He is not wrong and he does not have to repent for his actions.

God is perfect, wonderful, marvelous and worthy of all our praise.  If he is this wonderful God that does no wrong, why do we still sometimes doubt that he will take care of the situations we face?  Why do we still waver about trusting in his way instead of our own?

Today, Lord I pray that you would help us to trust you completely.  You never make a mistake.  You see the way clearly and you know that which we have not even faced yet.  Help us this day know you will never say, you can do better.  You will never fumble over how to handle our lives and our situations.  You will always do everything in your perfect like way.

Words of Encouragement

Where is this road leading?  For many of us, we do not know where every road will lead.  Yet, we can rest in God, because he will never say, "I don't know".  He is the one that knows it all.

If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not God have discovered it, since he knows the secrets of the heart?  - Psalm 44:20-21

Things God Will Not Say. I Don't Know What to Do. We often times, think things about God that are not true.  No, we will not say it with our mouths, but the thoughts are often there.  The enemy of our soul tries to make us doubt God and his awesome power.

In today's scripture, we are reminded by the Psalmist that God is never caught unaware of anything.  God will never look upon us and say, "I don't know what to do."  God knows if we go astray or he knows when we are faithful.  He knows the very secrets of our hearts.

If God knows our hearts, doesn't that mean he also knows what we will face?  He will not look upon the situations of our lives and sit in wonderment, as if this has caught him off guard.

Today, we can be encouraged to know that God will never say he doesn't have knowledge about our lives and our life situations.  We can be encouraged that even though this may be true for us, it is not true about God.

Today, I pray for us, Lord help us to be reminded that you know all about us because you formed us.  You know our coming in and our going out. Lord help us, this day to trust you more.

Week in Review

“Why are you feeding the dead?” (Part 3)
March 25, 2007
Preached in Wisconsin by Jewel D. Williams

2. What does the things of the flesh look like? What does the things of the Spirit look like? In other words, what does it look like when you are functioning from the flesh or from the Spirit? Lets look at few practical applications that the Lord took me to.

Giving. Fleshly giving states:
I’ll give to you as long as I get something back.
I’ll give as long as others see what I am doing, so I can get praise.
I’ll give something, but not my best.

Spiritual giving states:
I will give my best.
I will give without expecting to receive in return.
I will give from the desires of my heart for God and not to please me.

What about control?
Well there is no fleshly control. The flesh says, I can do everything I want no matter who it hurts or how it makes others feels, as long as it makes me feel good, it’s all good.

Spiritual control states:
I will take control over fleshly desires.
I will release control of myself into God’s hand.
I will not pursue anything that will hinder my walk with God or others. One more practical application is Love.

Fleshly loves states:
I love you as long as I get something in return.
I love you as long as you give to me
If I don’t get something, I’ll stop loving you.
Love is only useful when it is beneficial to me.
I love you as long as you appeal to me, but if something else comes along better, I won’t love you anymore.
That is fleshly love!!

Love through the Spirit states:
Because I love you I will be patient, longsuffering, I will love you unconditionally, I will love you with a godly love, because God loved us when we were his enemies, so I will love you even when you refuse to be at peace with me. I will love you and place your needs even above my own comfort. What I desire for myself will not be above what is best for you, because my actions are motivated by love.

Now let me make a footnote here. Spiritual love is not sappy love. It is a thought out choice and action. It is also a firm love. Meaning that there are times when godly love says, I love you enough to try to warn you of your sins, but if you refuse to turn I will love you enough to allow you to deal with the full consequences of those actions. See God loves us and continually calls us back to a right relationship with him, but if we refuse and sin, he is just to forgive us, but he does not remove the consequences of those actions. I believe it is because he is allowing us to understand more fully why we should not be disobedient. When for instant our children do something wrong, we can love them and try to correct them, and we should forgive them, but we should not remove the consequences because they teach them a lesson that you are responsible for what you do. You reap what you sow.

Speaking of love let me dwell here for a moment. Do you know we Christians are breaking God’s heart? First let me address the married people. In the beginning there were two things that God made that were perfect. Marriage was one, we know this because God made Eve and took her to Adam. He also made work. We know this because he told Adam to name the animals and put him over the care of the land. When sin entered, that which God made perfect was marred. Adam and Eve before the fall were able to be one. They were a physical example of the unity of the Trinity. God the father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are three distinct persons with distinct characteristics and purposes, yet they are one in the Godhead. They are one in spirit (there are not three God’s but one God) and they are one in purpose. Marriage was to be the same. Adam and Eve were able to be one with each other and one with God. They walked through the garden with God and were not ashamed to be naked in front of each other or God. In other words they were completely open and transparent with each other and with God. They were one in purpose, to please God and follow his commands. They were one in spirit, because they were connected to each other through their worship of God and they were one in personhood, they were walking together and not in two different directions. Sin changed that.

When sin entered, marriage became one of the areas where Satan hits the most. He knows the purpose God created marriage for, that it was for a good thing, and he tries to destroy it because if he can destroy the marriage, he can destroy the family and the purpose God has ordained for it. Sin makes marriage burdensome for some and for others it seems it is impossible to obtain the goal of a good marriage, so they quit (divorce). It is the same thing with work sin marred it. We now think of work not as something God created for us to bring him honor and provide for our physical needs, but for our own self-promotion and self-expression. We rarely think of work as something God gave us to honor him. And we have become obsessed with our own status that we allow work to become our god’s instead of the true God. We allow our pursuit of work to move God out of the way and to move our families out of their places of importance. This again is how Satan tries to destroy the family. In the garden, fellowship with God was first, then fellowship with each other, then work. Sin has changed all things around. Work is first, maybe family and sometimes, God not at all.

Week in Review

HELP ME BE GOOD!

Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates, - Deuteronomy 11:18-20

Someone asked me what are the things that I do to try and help my children with discipline. I have used this method starting with my oldest child that is now 18. I have adopted the method to fit with the age of the child. In a world where we are always looking to try and find things that can help us, I hope this helps you in setting up a standard (or reinforcing one).

You can purchase a large poster board and depending on the number of children you have, you can separate them into two sides and put a child on each side. At the top of each side I have place either the child’s picture or something that was important to them, and allowed them to know what side was theirs. I also allow them to color the boards, as they would like. You can either separate the board by adding lines to make places for the days of the week. The latest one I use, I simply place the stickers next to each other and when we come to the end of the month we place a marker mark behind the stickers for the last month and we start all over again. You can also, for the sake of separation, put the count of the total stickers behind the last sticker.

This is how the system works. At the beginning of the day each child starts off with a certain number of stickers (I did something slightly different with my oldest child. Instead of the stickers we simply used marker tallies). This is a guide I used for my children.

Things you gain/lose points for: You can get a total of 6 stickers a day.

You will be given only one warning before you lose a sticker. If you keep all your stickers, you may be able to win “extra” stickers for doing extra work when asked.

Chores – You must keep your room clean / you must pick up your school stuff / you must pick up all your toys and items around the house

Behavior – You must not scream /you must not fight with your sisters / you must not whine / no talking back to parents or each other / no name calling / no lying

Bed time rules – You must brush your teeth / take a bath or wash up / lotion up / and get in bed without being told

Morning rules – You must get up when told / you must eat what you are given / no whining about breakfast food / you must wash up and brush you teach on time / you must get all of your things ready without being told

Bible study rules – You must memorize you weekly scripture verse
Attitude – you must have a “right” attitude / you must not talk back to your parents or ignore them when they are giving instructions / you must remember God wants you to have a cheerful spirit

Rewards – at the end of each month, you will be able to receive rewards based on what your parents decide. Some of the coming rewards you can earn are: Sesame Street Live – Super Grover – May / Weekend getaway – Kids Fun-tastic weekend – April) also we will pick “Family weekend events” when you have kept at least 50% of your tickets.

This was one of the old systems we used. How can we expect the children to know what is expected of them unless we write it down and make it plan. So each child is given a list of what they are expected to do. They can put it up on their doors so they can see it each day (when they wake in the morning and when they go to sleep at night). If the children were warned about the behavior and they did not correct it, they lost a sticker. At first each child did not want to comply. However, when they realized the things they could lose, they did not want to lose a sticker. I found that the one that was helped the most from this system was me. Why? It kept me focused on what the rules were and I stopped being a “yeller”. I hated being a yeller. You know always yelling for everything your children did wrong. This was mainly because I was frustrated and could not gain the control. When I began using this system I gained the control and I found peace again in my house.

I hope this gives you an idea what would work for your family and your children. When my oldest daughter became a teenager, we had a signed contract. Her dealt with her phone, homework, curfew and house work. If your child isn’t big on rewards, find what they like. Sports and outings, then make that the reward. Time with you, make that the reward. Whatever will help you set up a standard is worth the time and investment.

Words of Encouragement

Today, do we believe that there is not one stormy water that God can calm?  Do we believe he can answer our prayers? Or do we simply need to do as a man from scripture did and ask "Help me in my unbelief".  Help us today to grasp hold of your truth and that is there is nothing to wonderful, or hard or difficult that you cannot do.

Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. - 1 Peter 3:1-3

Reverence For God. To Submit Myself. Let me tell you why I choose this scripture to end the week with. I have heard from many over the last year or so that have wanted to walk away from their marriages because things were too hard, things seemed to difficult to be ever set right and they were losing hope of God doing anything in their marriages.

God ask of us those things that he desires because he already knows what we will face and he knows how he wants to fix them.  He calls for the wives in this scripture to submit themselves to an unbelieving husband.  See many of us accept this scripture of submission but we change it.  We say submit yourselves (but we teach it with the understanding that this is a "saved" husband). This says do so even if the husband is unsaved.  Why in the name of God would I want to do that?

I'm glad you asked!  You would want to do it because of the relationship that you have with God.  Your love, worship and reverence for God will show to that unsaved spouse something about the goodness of God.  And God says it is done that they may be won.  I want us to look at the word "may" differently than we do.

We normally look at this word "may" as if it is saying maybe it will or maybe it won't.  I want us to look at it from other versions to understand the importance of what is being said.  In one version it says do it so that your husband will be captivated (unable to turn away) from the beauty he sees in you that represents God. Another version says they will be won over with your upright and holy living.

Why do I share this?  It is a shame that as a community of believers we do not share with those going through difficult marriages the good news about God.  What is the good news?  The good news is this, God is bigger than divorce.  God is bigger than a bad marriage, unfaithful spouse or an unaffection husband or wife. 

God calls us (and this is not just a call to wives but to husband as well) to be that light in front of your unsaved spouse.  He calls you to live in such a way that your spouse will be captivated by what he or she sees in your relationship with God.  When they refuse to obey God's word, your godly living will draw them away from the sin in their lives and to a right relationship with God.  So then when we see people in distress about the conflicts in their marriages, what should we tell them?

We tell them God says in his word that it is by your godly and reverent life, that he can change the heart of your spouse.  If we are not willing to give this as the first advice, then why are we professing we believe God can do anything?  Isn't this anything!  So please let us as the body of Christ be the first to give the good news to those hurting on how their marriages can be saved. 

Is it easy, not so.  Is it going to happen over night, probably not.  But is it impossible to happen?  No Way. Stop supporting the thought that the only way out of a bad marriage is divorce.  Then as believers, where is our hope then?  Tell those in need that when they humble themselves like Joshua did, they can find themselves in the presence of God and there he will give them answers.  He will give them the way to be victorious in their own battle.  Let us tell them (and others) to come to God's house with an awe and reverence for God so that we can experience his presence and worship him his way.

Today Lord I pray that you would give to us the determination to trust more completely in you.  As we come into your presence we are in awe as we see your glory.  If we are allowed to experience your glory, then surely you will glorify yourself in any situation we find ourselves.  We reverence you today.  We honor you and we adore you.  For you are worthy of all our praise.

Words of Encouragement

Today, God we ask you, draw us to you as we see the daily mercies you give to us.  Help it to bring us to a place of reverence for you.

You destroy those who tell lies; bloodthirsty and deceitful men the LORD abhors. But I, by your great mercy, will come into your house; in reverence will I bow down toward your holy temple. Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies— make straight your way before me. - Psalm 5:6-8

Reverence For God. Mercy Draws us to God's House in Reverence. The psalmist rejoices in the understanding that God will protect those that are upright before him.  God will destroy the ungodly (when he decides) but those that trust in him, he will keep.  This understanding of the great mercy of God draws the psalmist to come to God's house in reverence.

The mercy of God should draw all believers to come to God's house and be in awe of who he is.  We should come to worship him with a spirit of excellence. That means we are not satisfied with half doing anything for God.  We are not satisfied with not putting our best forward for the worship of God.  Excellence!  Let us search for the spirit of excellence unto the Lord.

Lord today, let us your children not be satisfied with doing just anything for you. Lord help us to give you our best because of your great mercy you give unto us.

Words of Encouragement

When we take building up the things that God has required of us, we can build up a strong "wall" that cannot be broken down.  Are you building up the "walls" that will protect others?  Are you seeking a presence of excellence because of your reverence of God?

Moreover, from the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, until his thirty-second year—twelve years—neither I nor my brothers ate the food allotted to the governor. But the earlier governors—those preceding me—placed a heavy burden on the people and took forty shekels [a] of silver from them in addition to food and wine. Their assistants also lorded it over the people. But out of reverence for God I did not act like that. Instead, I devoted myself to the work on this wall. All my men were assembled there for the work; we [b] did not acquire any land. - Nehemiah 5:14-16

Reverence of God. In Our Treatment of Others. Nehemiah is speaking about his intergrity.  Yes, when you are in a place of reverence to God, your personal intergrity is very important to you because it reflects who you are in God.

Nehemiah tells about how the one in leadership before him was not good to the people. Nehemiah said I did not treat you wrong nor did I lord my power over you, why?  It was because he was devoted to the things of God and that devotion required excellence in Nehemiah. This excellence is not his own excellence, but it is because of the reverence of God working in him and through him so that the excellence of God can be exhibited.

Today Lord we thank you for giving us the desire to work towards excellence in everything we do. Lord let it first start with you and then let it show itself in how we treat others.  This we pray, Amen.

Words of Encouragement

We can stand in any area of our lives and have the opportunity to reverence God.  Have you lowered yourself today and glorified God.

Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?" "Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?" The commander of the LORD's army replied, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so. - Joshua 5:13-15

Reverence for God. In His Presence. One of the meanings for reverence was the outward manifestation of this feeling.  This is the action, active response that calls for God's people to do something.  How can we say we reverence God, but it does not show in any of our actions in our lives?

Joshua was preparing to go to battle at Jericho and as he was standing there, he saw a man standing by.  He asked him who he was.  He wanted to know was he for his side or for the enemy's side.  The response was neither, I'm on the Lord's side.

When Joshua received the response that he was in the presence of a messenger of God, he immediately went into action.  He did not stand and look at him or continue to ask questions, he immediately went into a position of humbling when he fell on his face.  He did not ask another thing until he reverence the fact that he was in the presence of God.

When Joshua asked the next question to find what was the reason for the visit, he was met not right away with an answer but with another command.  Take off your shoes, you are on Holy ground.  This was the same command given to Moses when he saw the burning bush.

Joshua was in awe at the fact that he was allowed to be in the presence of the Lord. When Joshua was willing to lower himself (humbling) he was able to find out what God had for him. He was not able to "hear" from God's messenger until he removed his shoes and acknowledged he was in the presence of God. We must strip off all that would stand in the way of our worshipping God so that we can commune with him.

Lord, today help us to lower ourselves so that we can reverence you your way.  Help us so that we will not miss being in your presence.

Words of Encouragement

When we come into the sanctuary (church), we should come with an attitude of honoring the Lord for he is worthy to be praised.  Have you praised him today?

" 'Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the LORD.  " 'Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God. - Leviticus 19:30-31

Reverence for God. In his Sanctuary. Let's start today with what does it mean to reverence? One meaning is, a feeling or attitude of deep respect tinged with awe; veneration. Another meaning (uses as a verb) is to regard or treat with reverence; venerate, as in the reverance God. This is also an active word, "the outward manifestation of this feeling". So when we say we reverence God what we are stating is we have an attitude of deep respect as well as respect and awe.  This reverence is directed toward God.

Now that we have this understanding, let us look at the scripture for today.  God is telling his children some important things for them to observe. God is telling his children to honor the sabbath and to have reverence for his sanctuary.  The sanctuary of then is not the same as the church of today, but it serves the same purpose, it is the place where God's people are to come and worship.  On that note, the sanctuary and the church have the same purpose.  So we can stand to believe that what God commanded for the sanctuary is the same for us in the church.

God says that he does not what his children going after lesser things (mediums, and false doctrine, wrong behavior, wrong worship attitude, etc.). What God is calling for from his children is to come into his house with a sense of awe.  To be as excited (or more) as if you were invited into the most famous persons home or someone you greatly admired.  After you stopped pinching yourself, you would be in a state of awe because you could not believe what you did to warrant this invite.

You would not go into the person's house and destroy it, or rearrange things to suit your comfort.  You would find out from the owner of the home what is proper and acceptable behavior and that is what you would do.

Well you have been invited into the home of someone of greatness.  For there is no one greater than He.  He has invited you to come and you should be in awe as to what warranted the invitation.  It was not anything you did, but what his Son did on the cross.  And then when you go into the house you should go in and not try to arrange things to fit what you are comfortable with, but to ask the owner of the house, what do you want us to do in your house?

We pray Sunday after Sunday for God's Spirit to have control of the house, yet we oftentimes take the control and try to do things our own way.  So instead when we pray and ask God to take control we should let go and simply have reverance for his greatness.  So today I pray for us that we would begin to understand how to reverance God in an entirely new way, His way.

The Week In Review

Why Are You Feeding the Dead? (Part 2)

Preached March 25, 2007

By Minister Jewel D. Williams

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."


In the scripture Romans 8:1-15, let us take a quick look at some points Paul is trying to make.

Vs 1-2 – Freedom is available to all that trust in Christ. You no longer have to be in bondage to sins you commit or to those committed against you that keep you from walking in the fullness of Christ. Sometimes the things done to us, keep us from trusting God. Because others have rejected us, we then reject God. God had to show me recently I was doing the same. Because I was feeling rejected and unloved, I in turn was doing the same to the Lord. I was blaming him for what was happening to me, instead of simply trusting that whatever he allows in my life is not to destroy me, but to make me better. He will take all things, not just some and work them for my good.

Vs 3-4 – Jesus took on every sin conceivable and stood in our place and received my punishment and yours so that God could exchange his righteousness (holiness, purity) for our unrighteousness, sinfulness and wickedness. And we need to stop trivialize our sins by such words as I made a “bad choice”, or a “mistake”, or that’s “just the way I am”, or the one I hate the most “I have always been this way” then you need to release it and let him change you before, that sin in your life leads you to bondage and from bondage to eternal damnation. It is sin if it is not in line with God, and you know he wants you to release it. When Christ took our sins, he opened to us the potential for victorious living. Hear what I say, I say potential because it does not manifest itself until we begin to walk in it.

That is why we must do as the scripture tells us. I had to set us up so that we can understand what God is speaking to us next,

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness…But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. - Romans 6:6-13, 8:10

So I have a question. If you are dead to the flesh and alive to the spirit, why are you feeding a dead body? You or I should not be feeding the flesh. 1 Cor. 5:31 reads, “I die daily”. Which is dying to the lusts of the flesh daily. I believe however that we should understand this differently, not I die daily because our flesh will not die on its on, but I will kill daily (meaning I am active in the dying process) my flesh. I should not be feeding the desires of a fleshly appetite, but I should be feeding the Spirit that lives in me. I should be feeding the Spirit the life giving sustenance it needs to live. What are you doing daily to feed your spirit? Most of us get up in the morning and we rush to take our showers, brush our teeth, and get our morning coffee so we won’t bite someone’s head off, without our caffeine fix. But most will probably push the snooze button a few times to take that extra few moments of sleep. So we rush to our cars having taken care of our physical body’s needs, but our spirit man is still hungry. We didn’t get up and pray, we didn’t stop to read our word and meditate on it. So we jump in our cars and maybe we will or maybe we won’t listen to a Christian radio or CD. And some even if they have the music on, they are too busy yelling at the slow person in front of them and having road rage. And by the time you get to work, you’re probably frustrated, and your spirit man is still hungry, because he hasn’t been fed yet.

We most likely will not stop too often to read our word during the work hours, we rarely will stop to pray but we surely will not try to miss too many trips to the candy machine or lunches. So we will come home from work with a full physical stomach but a weak hungry spirit. We might stop and read the word now that we are home. But sadly, no, we have too many things that are too important to put aside to do that. We have work we have brought home, or we just need to relax because we had a hard day, or maybe your favorite movie is coming on so you just want to kick up your feet and relax. So you go to bed and maybe you’ll give a quick, weak attempt of a prayer when you say, “Lord thank you for today” and go to bed.

And day after day you continue in this way, and your spirit man is being starved of the nutrients it needs to survive. Yet your flesh is not being denied, so it continues to control your actions, and your motives. That false trinity is in full control. Everything is being decided through the “me, myself and I”. And because of that, many of the trials you are about to face or because of your own doing. Did you hear me? Some of the stuff we are facing is not because the devil came along and did something to us, but because we have gradually been building our flesh and weakening our spirit so we have a battle going on inside. And for some of us when the first trial comes along, we are knocked off our feet because our spirit man is not ready to handle the trial. There is going to be a battle between what the spirit man needs you to do and what the flesh wants to do.

As I was preparing for today, I began to think about how to give us a visual of what is transpiring inside of us. Many of you may have read of the story from Matthew 22 and the similar story in Luke. In Matthew the king is preparing a feast for a wedding for his son. The invitation was sent out for all to come and partake of the feast. Many didn’t want to come. So the servant went out and got others to come, and when they did come, they did not have on wedding attire. In the story in Luke it talks about an invitation going out for all to come to a feast, but many came up with excuses why they could not come. It was because of their stuff, their work, or their relationships being more important that the feast. So this is the visual my mind began to see. When God saved us and removed us from condemnation (or conviction, and sentence of death for our crimes) to liberty (freedom), he also opened up to us all the provisions we need to be able to stand. He sets a table before us filled with all that we need to feast our spirit man on. He prepared a wedding banquet to celebrate, the body (us believers) being married to or joined to his Son, Jesus. Yet what happens is we have this feast set before us, but we either refuse to come and dine because our stuff, our relationships or other things are too important or when we do come, we come as an offense to God.

Let me ask you a question? How would you feel if you prepared a meal for a friend and you made sure everything they need was in the meal and then they come to your house and instead of going to sit at the table, the go straight to the garbage can, lift the lid and begin to eat out of it? Well first you would think, what is wrong with them, they sure do need deliverance, eating out of the garbage, they have lost their minds. Then you would be offended that they would treat your meal so carelessly. Image if you will then how we look when we come to the most wonderful buffet table you can think of, the table that the Lord prepared for us to eat from? Let me tell you what’s on the menu of this feast. Today maybe you have a taste for how to win a battle and God prepared a meal for you to feast on about David and goliath and how you can strike down the giants in your life. Maybe you need some reassurance, so He prepared for you the psalms to digest, where he promises to take care of his anointed, or that he will be your hightower, your fortress. Or that he will give you rest under his wings. And when you eat from God’s word, it is sweet to your taste. So God provides this feast for you to help you grow, but you decide you would rather not eat from his banquet table. You decide instead to go to the garbage can, lift the lid and began to eat. The very thought of someone eating from the garbage can when you have provided for them is offensive to you, but how much more is our offense to God, when he provides us with what we need to build our spiritual man, but we refuse and continue to feast on that which weakens us and continues to give our flesh control. And all because we have made other things more important than him and we make excuses after excuse for offending him. So we have to ask the question, are we killing our flesh daily or are we feeding ourselves on the garbage that continues to resuscitate our flesh?

The Week In Review

Writing Assignment #6 – Church and Witness

2006

The purpose of the church has often been misunderstood. Some believe church attendance is all that is necessary to be saved and others believe it has no importance in today’s world and one can live without the church intervening. Both of these views are distorted regarding the purpose of the church. The Bible is the source that best defines the relevancy of the church.


Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary defines the church as, “a local assembly of believers as well as the redeemed of all the ages who follow Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord” (275). This definition calls for one to broaden their understanding of church. It is one’s local assembly but it is more than the walls or the building. The early church met in the Temple courts and Jewish synagogues, as well as in the private homes of believers (Acts 5:42). Richard Howard, in his book Newness of Life, states, “On the other hand, an overemphasis on the importance of the Church as the mystical body of Christ tends to ignore the clear teaching of the New Testament that every man must personally respond to the Cross in faith” (118). The church is the body of believers (those that have personally accepted Jesus Christ as Savior). The church is also made up of the believers that come together to worship the Lord in the local congregations.


The early church gives believers today an example of what the body of believers should look like. In Acts 2:44-47, the believers came together and there was unity among them. They took care of each other’s needs (they were not depending on governmental help) and they had fellowship with one another. There was singleness of heart (all were there for one purpose, to serve God) and God added to the church. The significance of this scripture is to show how working in unity will bring forth fruit (God adding to the church).

Howard makes this point to his reader, “It seems clear that it was to emphasize the unity of the Church, that the individual believer was a vital part of a collective whole. The human body offered a vivid metaphor” (121). In Howard’s book he uses the metaphor of the church being a body. All the parts are important to the whole.

The Bible uses other metaphors or models to show what the church should look like. The writer, Arlo F. Newell in his book, The Church of God as revealed in Scripture, explains these models when he writes, “Various figures of speech make plain the New Testament idea of the Church. It is a flock (John 10), all of one fold, following the Shepherd. It is the family of God (Eph. 3:15), composed of all who have been born again. It is a city whose inhabitants are all saved and recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life (Heb. 12:22). It is a house or building (1 Tim. 3:15) comprised of ‘living stones…built into a spiritual house’ (1 Pet. 2:5), ‘joined…and built into it for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit’ (Eph. 2:21-22)” (40).

The church, therefore, is the body of believers (flock) that belong to God and are being lead by the Shepherd (Jesus). Jesus is the head of the church. Newell states it this way, “The church is the body of Christ; hence it is only natural that he should be the head of his own body. He is ‘head over all things for the church, which is his body’ (Eph. 1:22-23). ‘He is head of the body, the church’ (Col. 1:18)” (41).

Howard points out that when one becomes a part of the church, there are some things one must do outwardly to show what has taken place inwardly. Howard states, “Christian water baptism was the visible gate of entrance into the new fellowship. When it is realized that baptism relates to the Christian Church as circumcision did to the covenant of the Hebrew people, the importance of baptism becomes clear…Water baptism produces outer authentication of one’s faith in Christ, even as the coming of the Holy Spirit provided inner authentication” (122). Howard is not stating that baptism is what will save but it is a sacrament, which is not normally optional in fulfilling (123). Another sacrament Howard points out is participation in Communion. “The man of faith finds a new fellowship, becoming part of the Church and the body of Christ. This new fellowship is entered through the visible gate of baptism and is maintained through participation in the sacrament of Communion” (Howard, 125).

One should attend a local church or congregation to fellowship together with other believers. This fellowship will help the individual to be accountable to others as wells as in growing in their faith and understanding. Each member is a vital part of the body and no one is more important than another. Each member is also given gifts to use within the body (1 Corinthians 12:3 – 11). God’s Spirit administers spiritual gifts to each member of the body. These gifts are not given for selfish reason but to help the body to function as God has ordained it to.

In the book, Biblical Foundations & Contemporary Strategies: Missions, the author Gailyn Van Rheenen In a figure shows this important point, “God originated the mission, Jesus Christ enacted the mission, the Holy Spirit gives power to the mission, the Church carries the mission and the World hears the mission” (18). This gives the ultimate purpose of the church. God through Jesus initiated the mission of reconciliation to the lost of the world. This mission is not based on human efforts (or work, lest any should boast) but God directives. God created this purpose when men were still lost in sin. The church then becomes vital because it is the avenue God chose to convey the message of reconciliation. The Holy Spirit empowers the people (body of Christ) to tell the message. This is the great commission for all believers to go and tell the world the message of Jesus.

It is important to give the message of reconciliation to non-believers so they can have fellowship with God and not simply to be a part of our local congregation. It is important, however, to encourage those that God adds to one’s local congregation. God commands us to love one another and be united because we are members of the body together (Eph. 4:25). God calls for unity among the believers (even if we do not all attend the same church), as it states in Psalm 133:1 “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” It is important for new believers (as well as all believers) to have the teaching needed to be able to live a victorious life.

As the early church worked together, the Lord added to the body. If the church today is going to continue to grow and reach the lost, believers must be cheerful givers of themselves to kingdom work. Attendance in the local church is essential for the believer to grow personally and to learn how to reach the world for Christ. When the believer is active in the body, then the body grows stronger and God’s mission is fulfilled.

Work Cited

Howard, Richard E. Newness of Life. United States of America: n.p., 1975.

Newell, Arlo F. The Church of God as revealed in Scripture. Anderson, IN: Warner Press, Inc., 1983.

Rheenen, Gailyn Van. Biblical Foundations & Contemporary Strategies: Missions. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996.


Thompson, Frank Charles, D.D., PH.D. The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible. 5th ed. Indianapolis, IN: B. B. Kirkbridge Bible Co., Inc., 1988.

Words of Encouragement

Do you want to "graduate" to another level?  We can move from one level in God to the next one, but it takes us following his mandate and giving it our all, until he tells us "you have been faithful over theses things" now I will elevate you to another level.  We need God's peace if we desire to "graduate" to another level in him.

Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the LORD a man avoids evil. When a man's ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him. Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice. - Proverbs 16:6-8

Peace of God. Peace Among Your Enemies. I don't know about you but I am greatly amazed at how God can turn your enemies around and even have them blessing you. You've seen it happen.  Someone on your job was giving you the flux and you continued to pray and seek God.  In the midst of that situation he used it to grow you and keep you righteous before him.

Then he did the amazing thing.  He made that person that was always talking about your, or doing you wrong or trying to take your credit turn their ways around. Sometimes I believe the individual is even surprised themselves.  They do not understand why they hated you before but now they are looking out for your benefit.  Why is that?  It is the power of God.

When we obey God and walk upright before him, he will turn the hearts of others around on your behalf.  That then tells you and I that we don't always need to get someone told or straightened out.  Sometimes we simply need to wait on God and let him do what he is going to do.  Let him work it out.

The truth of the matter is, when you and I try to solve it when tend to make things worst.  When God does it, it is DONE RIGHT!  So this weekend when you go to worship the Lord, go with a heart to obey him.

If you are lacking peace in your life right now, pray with me for the peace of God to come into your life.  Lord, you are the peace giver.  First, if there is anything in me that is keeping me from experiencing your peace, then remove it.  And when you do, I know that you will give me your peace.  If I am do not have your peace because I am doubtful of what you can do, then help me in my unbelief.  Help me to hold to your hand and trust you.  Now Lord, I release all doubt, all fear and I accept at this very moment your peace.  Flood my very soul and give me the peace that passes all understanding.  And when you do, I will bless your holy name, forever.

Words of Encouragement

What an interesting picture of being at peace?  Why isn't the animal raging and running like you would expect?  Instead he sits still with these birds resting upon his back.  What a spiritual picture of what we should look like.  When our natural tendency is to rage, we can be still.  Even when the many things in life have decided to rest upon our backs, we can keep still and at peace.  Why?  Because greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world!

A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly. A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God. - Proverbs 14:29-31

Peace of God. Peace brings benefits. Have you seen those kinds of people that blow up for the slightest things?  You know the type everything upsets them and you would tell them to calm down but you are afaid they will blow a gasket. Did you know that when you do not have the peace of God, you easily become a quick-tempered person?

It is when you have the peace of God in your heart that you are able to think first before you would act.  A peaceful heart becomes a filter to all reactions.  So when things happen that would normally upset the average person, you are able to respond calmly.

There are benefits to having the peace of God.  Not only are you able to stay calm in situations but you are also able to stop the effects of stress that would ravage your body.  Did you know when you are stressed out, angry, frustrated and unable to calm down, that has negative chemically affects on your body?  So the opposite then has to be true.  When you have peace it is a chemical benefit to your body. 

Lord today help us to have a peaceful heart with gives us great benefits.  We receive not only spiritual benefits but physical ones as well.  Lord thank you today for your peace, which passes all our earthly understanding.  Help me today, feel your peace even if situations would try to cause me to be short tempered and to become upset.

Words of Encouragement

Whenever I see this drawing from my daughter, I think of a dry piece of driftwood (I believe that is what it is).  I also think about how we can become when we are not in line with God.  We can become like dry wood.  We can become brittle and easily break, partly because we have not peace.  Yet if we let God "rain" down on us we become like a fresh branch that grows from a flourishing tree.  We are strong, and we bring forth growth.  We are lively because we are experiencing the peace of God which only comes from being connected to him.

keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.  The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry; - Psalm 34:13-15

Peace of God. No Good, No Peace. Have you ever wondered if the unrest in your heart may have been because of something you were doing?  I know often we tend to look outward first and not inward.  When we cannot find peace we often think it is because of our circumstances, situations or a number of things. However, sometimes we need to take a personal inventory.

The psalmist speaks to one that needs to turn away from the evil deeds and toward doing what is right.  The psalmist admonishes the reader to turn to seeking peace and going after it.  How do you go after peace?  You seek God with your entire heart, soul, mind and spirit.  The psalmist also goes on to say that God hears your cry and he will listen to those that are righteous.

So just maybe the unrest in ones life might be because of some sin that you have not addressed before the Lord.  Yet, we are offered this wonderful gift.  If we turn from that evil and pursue God to show us, he will.  What he will do then is restore to us our peace.  True peace comes from God.

Yes there are times we give up our peace because we are looking at our situations and we become doubtful.  There are also other times we lose our peace because we become disobedient and we need to turn back to God in order for that peace to be restored.

Lord, today, if there is anyone that has not peace because of the sin in their life, reveal it to them and help them to turn from it.  Help them to repent and have their peace, power and privileges restored.  Thank you today God for caring enough about us to show us when we are not in the right way.

Words of Encouragement

Oh to be carefree!  To be able to enjoy things around you and not to be frozen because of fear or doubt.  Well we can be carefree even in the midst of our own situations.  We do not have to be burden by life's cares.  We can let them go and know that God will strengthen us to stand.  So like these teens, we can enjoy life not matter what is before us.

The LORD sits [a] enthroned over the flood; the LORD is enthroned as King forever. The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace. - Psalm 29:10-11

Peace of God. We find Strength in God's Peace. Have you ever read the Psalms and come away from reading them and found encouragement?  That is because many of the psalms were written to do just that.  These psalms (songs) were to reminded us of God's attributes and in doing so, remind us of whom we belong.

The psalmist writes that God sits over the flood and he is king forever.  Surely this God that can be lifted above the floods that would wipe everyone else out can have power of my situations.  When I belong to this great God, I can find peace.  It is in this place of peace with God that I can also find strength.

When we are restless it is because we feel hopeless believe that our situations will destroy us.  When we trust in God and remind ourselves of who he is, we find peace and in that peace, strength.

Lord today, help us to remember the great God that you are.  When we do that you promise us blessings.  Those blessings are your peace and your strength.  Bless someone today that will be facing something difficult and will need to know they can have your peace as wells as your power to overcome their difficulty.

Words of Encouragement

Have you ever watched a baby sleeping?  She doesn't worry about the things around her, she simply finds rest and comfort in the arms of her mother or father.  Oh the things we could learn from an infant.  What would happen if we simply found rest in the comfort of the arms of our Heavenly Father?  What if we did not worry about the things around us?

You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound. I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. - Psalm 4:7-8

Peace of God. I find rest. There are times when things seem to bother you and you find yourself restless.  You sometimes try to pray about it and release it, only to have it bothering you and keeping you from sleeping.

Yet, when you learn to trust in the Lord and call upon him for his peace, you can lie down and sleep because you know you are in the Lord's care and under his protection.

The psalmist makes a great declaration.  The psalmist writes that his heart is fuller than if there were bounty in the land. When you recognize that God is your help, you also realize that no matter what you face God is big enough to take care of it.  When you come to that understanding, you can find rest and peace.

Lord, today help us your people not to become weighted by our fears so that we lose out on your peace.  Help us today Lord to trust you and know that you promise us rest.

The Week in Review

This building does not look inviting. If we saw this building we would most likely not go inside.  Why?  Because it does not look like a safe place to be or one that is inviting.  So if we can look at a building at tell if it safe or not, why can't we look at actions and tell the same thing?  Why can't we tell when the actions we do are not safe for our spiritual lives?

“Why are you feeding the dead?”

March 25, 2007

Preached in Wisconsin by Jewel D. Williams

Biblical background – The book of Romans is broken into several sections.
A quick overview in chapter 1:1-18, Paul introduces the generosity of servant hood. He then gives a “diagnosis – The knowledge of God and the sinful fall of humanity” (1:19-3:20). He moves to his 1st prognosis – Justified by faith in Jesus Christ (3:21-8:17). He gives the 2nd prognosis – subjected to futility (uselessness), subject to hope (8:18-11:36), here he talks about the glorious freedom of the Children of God, whom God justifies he also glorifies, the mercy of God and the riches of His glory toward all, he then gives his prescription: faithful servants in action (12:1-15:13) he talks about sacrificial worship, humble use of gifts within the body, loving acts of service and hospitality, loving one’s neighbor, living as in the day and not in darkness. Then he gives his conclusion, (15:14-16:27) his purpose for writing so boldly and his final greetings, warnings, and doxology.

The book of Romans is said to be one of the most powerful of Paul’s writings, three historical figures attribute their salvation to the book of Romans, Augustine, Martin Luther and John Wesley. Paul writes this letter to give the people the good news (the gospel). Paul gives the good news because the bad news is so bad, and people are in desperate need of the good news (isn’t that true today). What is the bad news? The bad news Paul expresses is that all people are cut off from God and subject to eternal judgment because of their built-in tendency to ignore who they really are and their refusal to turn away from “self”.

Paul starts this letter off talking about the people of his day. They had an idea of God because they could see the beauty and splendor of God’s hand in nature, but instead of seeking this God, the creator of everything, they worship nature itself. They were indifferent to the God who liberates people from their bondage to evil, pagan rituals, homosexual practices, to sexual immorality and the like. Their minds were warped and their moral compasses were spinning wildly. Murder, malice, deceit, and heartless cruelty prevail. But Paul goes on the say that this bad news isn’t just for the idol worshippers, murderers, and sexual offenders, but he says in verse 3:19 that every mouth is silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Compared to a holy and righteous God, the morally religious person is no better off than the immoral criminal.

All were alike, Jew and Gentile are without hope, because all alike have sinned. This is the stage that Paul letters sets when he gives the diagnosis of man’s plight. He could have been writing to us today. In our day, we are aware of God, we see his splendor in the earth, but there are still those that decide to worship the created instead of the creator. And one of those created things, is ourselves. So we worship “self” instead of the one that created man. Men and women today are still indifferent to a God that will liberate from the bondage of evil, from rituals to “self” and other false beliefs, from bondage to homosexuality and bondage to sexual sin and the like. Our minds today are also warped. And not only is our moral compasses spinning wildly, I think sometimes we have thrown them out the window to the ideas of “what works for me, is good because it works for me” We have thrown away the moral standards of God for the ideas of relativism, how does it relate to me. Murder, malice, deceit and heartless cruelty still prevail today.

So Paul gives the prognosis or cure of what can change man’s standing before God. It is still the same cure you and I need today. He tells his audience that there is hope, hope in Jesus Christ. Christ alone opens up the way for man to be in a right standing with God. This is where we will stop for a moment.

Let us look at the scripture:

Romans 7:15-25 – “For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not: but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good things: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”

There are different beliefs about whom Paul was speaking about. Some believe Paul is speaking about the struggles of the unsaved man. Some believe it is the struggle going on within the saved man, but that Paul is not speaking personally. There is also the belief that it is Paul speaking about himself, using himself as an example. I have no problem believing this is Paul speaking about his own struggles. I do not believe it is the unsaved, because they have not yet been changed so there is no good thing yet inside to struggle against, for the unsaved man is still filled with unrighteousness, yet we know that the Holy Spirit is working to draw the unsaved to the place where they can either accept or reject Christ. But, as of now the unsaved is still hostile towards God. And here Paul talks about the struggle against that which is good, and that which is sinful.

He is also addressing some of the popular believes of his time, for example that the soul struggle is essentially against a specific sin or habit, that human nature is essentially good, that sanctification is by means of the law, and that if one will only determine to do the right, he will be able to do it in his own power. These are some of the misconceptions Paul is addressing with this letter. These are some of the same misconceptions of our time. We believe that our problems will go away if we can only get rid of a particular habit or sin and we are going to be forever without struggles, that we have this inward good that we need to only tap into, and that if we are good upstanding people we will be sanctified, blessed or made holy and righteous because of our ability to want to do good and do it. We believe those “New Age” philosophies of we have the power to become God with our only wanting it to be so.

Reading other letters written by Paul we can know that Paul has no problem with using himself as an example to explain the truths of God. And if you know anything from listening to those that preach, that is how God does. He gives the preacher the message first so that when he or she comes to give it to the people, it is more than just words written on a piece of paper, but words that God has made real within their life. So let’s look a little deeper at one of the messages here in Paul’s letter to the Romans.

1. THE WAR INSIDE

What is dictating our actions?

The “Sin” inside –When we were sinners, we had no control over the sin inside we were in bondage to it, and we were lead by it. When Christ saved us, we were set free from the bondage of this sin. Yet we still have to deal with the flesh. When we were changed, our flesh did not disappear. We will contend with it as long as we are here on this side of heaven. What do we mean when we say flesh? The Flesh – is marked by no control over self or pursuit of self fulfilling things and lusts, it is self-sovereign (it’s own god), and it worships a false trinity of “Me, Myself and I” and it battles against…

The “Good” inside – God’s spirit was made alive in us through salvation. God imparted to us his Spirit so that we could live righteously before him. Now the Spirit in us – desires to do what is right before God, the spirit within wants us to flee evil, the Spirit wants control over the flesh, and the Spirit worships the true trinity of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

Paul asks the question, “Who can save me from this body of death” – the answer is, Jesus Alone. Paul is acknowledging that he does not have the power in himself to fight the war going on inside. Let me just say this, if I say nothing else, we could learn a valuable lesson from Paul in these verses. If Paul the great Apostle was aware that he was fighting a battle he could not win, why do we keep trying to change stuff ourselves? Why do we think we can work it out, figure it out in ourselves? Scripture tells us not to lean to our own understanding, and that is because our understanding is fleshly motivated and not spiritual and it will only mess things up really bad. You know you are using your understanding because ever sentence you say starts with “I”. That is you working from that false trinity of “me, myself and I”

You say things like I am going to do… I want to do… I won’t do…. What I need…and the list is endless. Instead we need to realize that if we are to be successful in this walk it will be us releasing our selves into God’s hand. We have to move our speech from “I” to saying things like, “God direct me…” “God lead me…” “God give your wisdom in this matter…” When we do we understand what Paul was saying, that Jesus alone will do it. Paul warns us not to think we can achieve through our own works. You or I cannot do enough to get this walk right. Us getting this walk right is based solely on you and I submitting completely to God and from that place we work out our salvation. This was one of those false beliefs I just mentioned that Paul was trying to show as a lie. We cannot just will it so; we must count completely on the Spirit of God in us, to be able to do what is right before God.

Check the Williams Innovative Network website, http://home.comcast.net/~inhisword/site/
 for the second installment of this message.