I'll Give You What I Do Have!

“Peter and John were going to the temple courtyard for the three o'clock prayer. At the same time, a man who had been lame from birth was being carried by some men. Every day these men would put the lame man at a gate in the temple courtyard. The gate was called Beautiful Gate. There he would beg for handouts from people going into the courtyard. When the man saw that Peter and John were about to go into the courtyard, he asked them for a handout. Peter and John stared at him. "Look at us!" Peter said. So the man watched them closely. He expected to receive something from them. However, Peter said to him, "I don't have any money, but I'll give you what I do have. Through the power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth, walk!" Peter took hold of the man's right hand and began to help him up. Immediately, the man's feet and ankles became strong. Springing to his feet, he stood up and started to walk. He went with Peter and John into the temple courtyard. The man was walking, jumping, and praising God. All the people saw him walking and praising God. They knew that he was the man who used to sit and beg at the temple's Beautiful Gate. The people were amazed and stunned to see what had happened to him.” Acts 3:1-10 GWT

This morning while I was getting ready the Lord brought a passage of scripture to remembrance and began speaking to me about it! The above passage was what was brought to mind. As I began thinking about it, I started seeing a different side of this passage. I don’t know about you, but growing up in children’s church, this was a bible story that was told to simply talk about the works God did through the disciples, but today I saw it in a new light as a message to the church of today!

In the world today there is such a push for the visual and monetary things. So much emphasis is put on the label of clothes, rather than the person inside. A large emphasis is put on the outward presentation, whether it is false advertisement or not. And, sadly, this mentality has slipped into the church. Gone, it seems, are the days where people would come into four walls with a dirt floor and prostrate themselves in the presence of God without a second thought, crying out for his holy fire of revival to engulf the world that surrounds. This focus, of God’s presence being the only thing of value, has been replaced with the progressive movement to be just as fancy and cool as the world and its concerts. We’ve replaced the cry of believers for revival, with the high-pitched jamming of electric guitars, the real glory-cloud with an imitation known as a smoke machine, and the light of the world with the coolest light show in town! Don’t get me wrong, I am not against making the inside of the church beautiful and cutting edge, but in pursuing that we have lost the very thing that matters most.

Timing is Everything!

How often do we hear the expression "timing is everything" in our lives? It seems to be one of those that you hear normally in a negative sense, because you're late turning in a project or paper in school and the professor looks at you merciless and says, "Jessica, timing is everything in life!" But, the expression also evokes a positive sense!

The past weeks I have really had my eyes opened to the positive side of "timing is everything." As many are aware, July 21, 2011 I packed my bags and hit the road with the family caravan for the 18 hour drive to Broken Arrow, OK to attend Rhema Bible Training Center. What many may not know is the long path that lead me to this point.

Rejected Love

        

I have noticed that one of the primary areas the devil targets us is in our love walk. He always seems to find the right person, to push the right buttons that push you away from them, while the whole while you are trying your best to walk in love. Often he send the people closest to us to break our heart and make us never what to extend the unconditional love we had given that person to another, in an effort to protect ourselves. Many times love is the key factor to many people’s problems. A depletion of love, being denied love, false love… and so on. More often than not, it is these people you invested your heart into, the people you freely gave to, who the devil uses to turn on you.

It is so hard to live in this world and truly show agape, the God-kind of love, to other human beings. And often, this is where we fail. We become hardened because we never want to hurt like that again. I am one who is guilty of that, having experienced past and recent hurts that push you to the edge to where you just want to shut your heart to people completely, never to be hurt again. And why is it that some of us seem to be gluttons for punishment and still keep loving people who “despitefully use us,” who speak wickedly of us, who rip our heart out of our chest and stomp it into a million pieces? Is it because we are weak cowards with no backbone to defend ourselves? Is it? I chose to believe that is the exact opposite of that and that believing the previous is a worldly view.

Itching Ears

 ‎"For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths."  

~ 2 Timothy 4:3-4 NLT

We live in a world today that is driven by "hype" and "glam" rather what is real. Just look at popular culture. We can't present the truth of what a person looks like, we have to photo"chop" them and create a false illusion to the public, in order to keep the public interested and hooked, and we have to keep pushing the limits to be on the "cutting edge" of what is expected. Hype rules the world we live in, it drives it and that same mentality has, sadly, entered into the church world. The church can no longer preach the truth because it is the "same old, same old" and there is nothing exciting about it. Church people want something new and exciting that "no one else has" and this most often leads to error and, in some cases, destruction. 

I know we christians don't like to talk about our flesh or even admit that it does dictate our perceptions of the Word, if we allow it to. But the truth is that if you open the door, your flesh can cause you to chase after teaching and doctrine that satisfies your flesh or itching ears, rather than strengthening your Spirit. Paul himself said, "But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." (1 Cor. 9:27). Even Paul felt pressure from his flesh, but he made a decision NOT to let his flesh rule or have the loudest voice in his life. I feel that too many christians are not following Paul's example, rather than renewing their mind to the Word and allowing the Spirit to be the loudest voice in them, they are allowing their flesh to dictate their beliefs, doctrine, and perception of the scripture. 

The Woman Who Said — 'I Hate My Mother-in-Law'

I did not write the following, but I wanted to share it. It gives a more in depth discussion of what I wrote about in my blogpost Do You Hate Your Brother?, please read! :) 

The Woman Who Said — 'I Hate My Mother-in-Law'

Kenneth E. Hagin

 

My wife and I once held a meeting in the western part of the United States. A young couple who were in the ministry went out to eat with us after the service.

The woman said to me, "Brother Hagin, tonight you quoted the Scripture from First John 3:15: Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.'"

I said, "I sure did. I plead guilty." When I quoted that verse, the Spirit of God inspired me to add, "That means mother-in-law too."

She said, "But I hate my mother-in-law." Here she was an ordained minister, and she said that she hated her mother-in-law!

I said, "If you do, the Bible says you're a murderer, and you don't have eternal life abiding in you. God wouldn't tell you to love your brother — that means mother-in-law too — if it were impossible to do so."

I knew she didn't really hate her mother-in-law, but I wanted to get her located so she could see herself in the light of God's Word. You see, just because 7 realized that she didn't really hate her mother-in-law, that wouldn't help her; I had to get her to see it.

Do You Hate Your Brother?

I was reading Love is the Way to Victory by Kenneth E. Hagin and came across 1 John 3:15 and went on to look up the whole chapter and read the passage in its entirety. Anyway it caused me to really think about some things....


Have you ever harbored feelings of hatred towards someone, because of something they did to you OR because of something you perceived they did to you? This seems to happen more often than it should in the church! 


I know we are probably all guilty of "hating" someone at some point in our christian walk, I mean we are human after all and completely capable of tripping and falling every now and then. But, do you know what the Word says about hating someone? It equates hating someone to MURDER! Yep, you heard me right, murder! You may say, "Oh, but Jess, you don't know what they've done to me! You have no idea how bad it is! They did...." Maybe so, maybe I don't know what they did to you because my experiences are different, and maybe what they did to you is worse than anything that has ever happened to me, BUT the God's love is UNCONDITIONAL! And we are supposed to exemplify God's love to humanity (Psst, even the people we don't like!). Love is something you just decide to do because you feel like it, it is a daily decision you make because it is what God wants you to do!

Diligence: Get Busy for God!

“If you’ll get busy for God, then, when He gets ready for you to do something else, He’ll know where to look for you. If you’re not busy, He’ll know you wouldn’t do it anyhow, so He’ll know there’s no use in talking to you, ‘cause you wouldn’t do it anyway. Sometimes people say, ‘Well I just don’t know what my place is, so I’m waiting to find out.’ Well, they’ll be waiting 10 years from now, if they’re not careful, and doing nothing. Do whatever your hand finds to do, and you’ll find as you’re busy working for God He’ll open up other doors to you, and He’ll witness to your spirit and to your heart just what He does want you to do!” ~ Kenneth E. Hagin

Hebrews 6:9-12

 "     Even though we speak this way, yet in your case, beloved, we are now firmly convinced of better things that are near to salvation and accompany it.

    For God is not unrighteous to forget or overlook your labor and the love which you have shown for His name's sake in ministering to the needs of the saints (His own consecrated people), as you still do.

    But we do [strongly and earnestly] desire for each of you to show the same diligence and sincerity [all the way through] in realizing and enjoying the full assurance and development of [your] hope until the end,

    In order that you may not grow disinterested and become [spiritual] sluggards, but imitators, behaving as do those who through faith (by their leaning of the entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness) and by practice of patient endurance and waiting are [now] inheriting the promises."

We need to be diligent in our work. I found the following definition of diligence inspiring:

Diligence is a zealous and careful nature in one's actions and work, exemplified by a decisive work ethic, budgeting of one's time, monitoring one's own activities to guard against laziness, and putting forth full concentration in one's work... 

Diligence is the act of doing all things efficiently and relentlessly to the best of one's ability in order to achieve success in every endeavor.

This is how we should approach every task we perform! In doing this, we exemplify our maturity and ability to take on greater tasks. If God sees that he can trust us with the "small" things He WILL use us for the "big" things! Praise God! 

Seek to be diligent in everything you set your hand to and watch doors of opportunity open up right and left! God's got an AMAZING plan for YOUR life, just hold on to His hand and you WILL see that His Word IS TRUE!!!!  Don't you DARE allow satan to rob you of that hope, YOU will walk in those things God has placed in your heart. Your past is in the past, you can't change that, but you CAN change your present and future by being diligent to do that which honors God.... even if that means cleaning the toilets at your church. God took a illiterate, british plumber and used him to RAISE THE DEAD and CHANGE THE WORLD! That "illiterate, british plumber" was Smith Wigglesworth! Just think about it..... if God could use someone from that background to change the world, imagine what he can do with YOUR life!!!!!!! :) 


BLESSINGS,
JRT <3 

Give Me the Word!

The following words are lyrics from a song that Raygene Wilson used to sing called "Give Me the Word." That song has just been stirring in my heart and I just wanted to put it out here! :) I may have messed some words up since I was typing and listening to the song (since I can't actually find the lyrics ANYWHERE!) ... but, that aside, these are AWESOME words to sing!