LOST IN THE HOUSE

This morning, our Pastor mentioned the Parable of the Lost Coin in Luke 15.  What strikes me in this parable is that the coin wasn’t spent foolishly or dropped on the way to an exciting adventure; no, the coin was lost inside the house.  Perhaps it had gotten buried under a stack of paper or had been carelessly swept off the table.  How long did it take before the owner realized it was missing?  The passage didn’t say but we do know that as soon as she realized it had fallen by the wayside, she made every effort to find it and lovingly restore it to its place beside the other coins.

Every Sunday Morning, we enter the church to worship with our brothers and sisters.  How many Sundays pass before we notice that one of the shining “coins” are missing?  Oh they may be sitting right beside you, they may go through the familiar motions and say all the right words at the appropriate times but if you look closely, you will notice, the “coin” is lost inside the house.

Perhaps they became “lost” under a “stack of life” or perhaps a careless word or action swept them away.  Whatever the reason, the “coins” are too valuable to shrug your shoulders or just replace with another shiny coin.  We have to learn to look behind the façade of manufactured smiles and perfect words and see the lonely soul that has become lost in the house.  Once we realize a coin is missing, I pray that the Body of Christ will, as the woman in Luke 15, light a lamp and sweep the house, searching with care until the “lost coin” is found and restored to its rightful place.

The Parable doesn’t end once the coin is found, however, Luke 15:9, And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!  As the church body begins to discover the “Coins” that have been lost in the house, we will begin to hear the sounds of rejoicing from earth and Heaven reach a resounding crescendo.  Luke 15:19, Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

It is time to light a lamp, get out our brooms and start sweeping.  There are precious coins that have been “LOST IN THE HOUSE” for too long.  Let the Sound of Rejoicing begin.

WONDERFUL!!! NOW WHAT WILL I PRAY ABOUT?

I am always a little suspect of Preachers, Speakers, Bloggers or Facebook Posters who never have a bad day, never make a wrong choice and have a way of looking down their collective noses at those of us who are not so perfect.  Get off your self-built pedestal; GET REAL!!!  To all my readers, my blogs are the images I view in my mirror, of human faults and failings surrounded by God’s endless mercy and grace.

For several months I have been struggling with an issue.  It has been the subject of many discussions with Steve, usually ending with me weeping in despair.  Many nights I have sprinkled my pillow with tears and many mornings have found me on my knees in supplication.  I have made many suggestions to God that I believe would really improve the situation.  Although, I’m sure God was listening to all my amazing ideas, He didn’t seem to want to try any of them.  FINALLY, this weekend, I saw a glimmer of light and realized God has been working on things without my help.  WONDERFUL!!!!  I am dancing and rejoicing…well, ok, I know I should be…it would be the right thing.

Truthfully, instead of sitting on “top of the world” or feeling as if a great weight had been lifted, I felt completely deflated.  WHAT AM I GOING TO PRAY ABOUT NOW?  For months, I have held this problem close; I have caressed it as I wept and pleaded for God to intervene.  It has provided many hours of conversation and solution development but even more important, it has provided wonderful EXCUSES FOR MY OWN INADEQUACIES AND LAZINESS.  What a comfort it is to be able to say, “Well at least I don’t…” or “I just don’t understand; I could never...”  Isn’t it just like God to snatch my beautifully formulated excuses right out from under my nose?  WHAT WILL I PRAY ABOUT NOW?   How about forgiveness?  YES, this morning found me on my knees repenting and God was not only listening, this time He answered.  HOW GREAT THE FATHER’S LOVE FOR US!!!

A favorite Bible story for Sunday School kids is that of “Jonah and the Whale.”  We learn that God commanded Jonah to go and tell the inhabitants of Nineveh to repent or be destroyed.  Jonah disobeyed and boarded a ship bound for Tarshish instead; there was a big storm, Jonah was thrown overboard, swallowed by a whale, spent 3 days in the whale’s belly, was regurgitated on to dry land, and ultimately obeyed God by preaching in Nineveh.  The story doesn’t end with the Sunday School version, however.  After Jonah preached, all of Nineveh, even the animals fasted.  The people repented and God relented.  Jonah 3:10 Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.

Like any “Preacher of Righteousness,” Jonah was on the mountaintop rejoicing and praising God; RIGHT?  NOPE, Jonah felt just a little deflated, as we read in Jonah 4:1-2 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. ² So he prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm.  I find it amusing that Jonah is angry with God for showing mercy until I take a look in God’s mirror and see, not Jonah but my distraught face.  I see my own lips mouthing the words of Jonah, “God, it is just like you, after I’ve prayed all these months, you provide a solution.  I knew you would do something like that.  Now what will I pray about?”

There must be times when God looks down, shakes His head, rolls His eyes and asks, “will she ever learn?”  God says to Jonah in verses 4 and 9 “Is it right for you to be angry?”  Then He graciously repeats the question to me and reminds me that Jonah didn’t have himself for an example; I should know better.  So I repent, God forgives and I rejoice.  As to the question, “NOW WHAT WILL I PRAY ABOUT?”  My email just sounded and sure enough; something important to pray about! 

TRADING THE GLORY ON THE MOUNTAIN FOR A GOLDEN CALF-PART 1

Exodus 32:1 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”

We enter the journey thru the wilderness at the point where Moses has gone up the mountain at the command of the Lord to receive Divine Instruction to deliver to the Children of Israel.  It seemed that Moses had been gone for a length of time and their faith began to wane.  It had been just a short time before that they had witnessed the miracle of deliverance from Egypt.  God had parted the Red Sea, drowned the enemy, given them a Pillar of Cloud by day and a Pillar of Fire by night to lead them, gave them sweet water at Marah, and rained Manna from Heaven to feed them.  What had brought them from victory to doubt in such a short time?  

Why would they so willingly trade the Glory on the Mountain for a Golden Calf?

The first clue may be the last line of verse 1, “for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”  Mistake #1, the Children of Israel forgot WHO brought them out of Egypt; they had put their faith in the MAN, God had anointed to lead them instead of the GOD who had delivered them.  

What led them to put their faith in Moses rather than God?  To find the answer, we will backtrack to Exodus 20.  Through Moses, God had commanded all the Children of Israel, to wash their clothes and consecrate themselves to prepare for the presence of the Lord.  They drew near the mountain as Moses ascended to commune with God but fear consumed them and we read this...

  Exodus 20:18-19 Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. ¹⁹ Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”  

FEAR consumed them and they willingly traded the GLORY ON THE MOUNTAIN!

What were they afraid of? What had occurred in their minds and heart from Exodus 24:7, “All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient” to Exodus 32:1, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us.”  

Surely it wasn’t fear of the God who had delivered them, the God who had made provision in their time of need, the God who had fought for them and destroyed their enemy; what were they afraid of?  

Perhaps, it was a fear of the Holiness of God and not measuring up to His standard.  Maybe it was the fear of a loss of their own will that would result from total commitment?  Or, could it have been a “fear of the unknown?”  

Whatever personal fears consumed the Children of Israel, it brought them to Exodus 32 and pleading with Aaron to give them a GOLDEN CALF instead of the GLORY ON THE MOUNTAIN.

The story continues in "TRADING THE GLORY ON THE MOUNTAIN FOR A GOLDEN CALF-PART 2"

WHEN SIN BECOMES YOUR FRIEND - PART 2

Recently, discussing a grievous situation with a close friend, I was reminded of the oft repeated saying, “Sin always takes you further than you ever thought you would go and you end up in places you never thought you would be.”  My friend went on to comment, “I think they have fallen in love with sin and I've seen people do that and when they do, they have no conscience whatsoever.”  The next morning, in a semi-conscious state, I heard these words spoken to my spirit, “When sin becomes your friend.”  The words continued to trouble me during devotions and throughout the day as I began to ponder, “How does the friendship begin?”  “What affect does it have?”  “What are the outward manifestations of such a friendship?”  “Where does the friendship take you and how does it end?”

Genesis 2:16-17 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; ¹⁷ but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

James 1:1-15 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. ¹⁵ Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

Searching the Word of God, we find that the end of sin is death but what happens between the First Embrace and the Final Kiss?

SIN SEPARATES.  Although Adam and Eve were not immediately struck dead because of their disobedience, they experienced immediate separation.  The Bible tells us the first thing they realized is that “they were naked.”  Up to this point they were in constant fellowship and clothed in the Glory of God.  Sin immediately separated them from the Glory and Holiness of God.  No longer would they enjoy the familiar daily fellowship with the Creator; no longer would they stroll through the beautiful garden, tending and enjoying its bounty.  Sin had destroyed the innocence and purity and they were cast out of their home and separated from the intimacy of God’s presence.  Like his parents, Cain also did not immediately die for his transgressions but he, too, faced the consequence of separation.  Genesis 4 tells us that Cain “went out from the presence of the Lord.  He became a fugitive and a vagabond.”  Sin is a jealous friend and demands your full attention. When Sin becomes your friend, it will separate you from close fellowship with God and it will separate you from those who love God and love you.

SIN IS A BETRAYER.  It may begin as a mild flirtation; you pick up the sin, stroke it a few times, then lay it down and move on until you answer its next call.  Soon, however, sin will make its demands and you will become more entangled until you will betray those you love so that sin’s demands can be fulfilled.  King David didn’t set out to sin; it was just a mild flirtation of the eyes; he lingered a little too long and “desire was conceived.”  It was a sin to bring Bathsheba to his bed, knowing that she was another man’s wife.  But the demand of sin was not satisfied with adultery.  When Bathsheba became pregnant, it was a sin to try to cover it up and pass it off as another man’s child.  But the demand of sin was not satisfied with lying.  Sin became a betrayer.  David betrayed a trusted man of valor in his Army, first by lying with his wife, impregnating her and finally having him murdered.  Sin’s final demand was death.  When Sin becomes your friend, it may not demand that you become a murderer, but make no mistake, sin will demand betrayal.  It will cause you to betray those things that are pure and lovely, it may demand a cover-up and it will cause you to betray those who love you the most. Sin will hold your hand as you give the “Kiss of Betrayal” because Sin is a Betrayer.

SIN WILL CHANGE YOU.  Proverbs 6:27 Can a man take fire to his bosom and his clothes not be burned?  Do not fool yourself into believing that you will not be affected by sin. You are not strong enough to take the “fire of sin” into your life and not be burned.   Sin will change you; it will change your behavior, your way of thinking, and even change your way of speaking.  We find Peter, warming himself by the fire, when he is accused of being a follower of Jesus.  This is the same Peter who had walked, talked and dined with Jesus.  He had witnessed the miracles, walked on the water and even followed Him into the garden to pray.  It is the Peter that vowed he would never betray his Lord. Yet, when faced with a trial, a beating and death because of an association, sin changed him into a person he thought he would never become.  After being pointed out as a friend of Jesus, three times, Peter decided to settle the situation once and for all; he changed his speech.  Mark 14:71 Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know this Man of whom you speak!” Friendship with sin will take you places you never thought you would go and they won’t seem so bad.  Your speech will turn from things that are pure and lovely to those things which are base and gutter-like.   When sin becomes your friend, evil will seem good and good will seem evil because Sin will change you!!

When Sin becomes your friend, the end result is death but the good news is the friendship can be broken.  It does not have to become a “lifelong” partnership.     Romans 5:19  For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.  God already had a plan in place before the first sin.    The plan was JESUS.  He was the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”  Death does NOT have to be the final sentence; through Jesus Christ we can have eternal life.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. You can become a “Friend of God.”

WHEN SIN BECOMES YOUR FRIEND - PART 1

Part 1 of this blog was birthed through many tears and from words God spoke to my spirit early one morning between slumber and awaking.  I have had to pause and weep many times as I write, for the many dear ones who have locked hands with sin and cannot see the ever-tightening chains that surround them.  Part 2 is in the process of being written and will be posted in the next few days.

Genesis 3:8 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate.

Every child who has sat in Sunday School knows the story of Adam, Eve and the “apple.”  They can tell you that God said they were not supposed to eat of the tree, the serpent told Eve it was ok, she wouldn’t really die, Eve ate the fruit, gave it to Adam, he ate and they realized they were naked. But is that really what happened?  Did Eve accidently pass the tree one day, listened to a snake and thought, “Why not?”  I believe there is much more to the “first sin” scenario then most of us think.  Look at your own life.  Have you ever just accidently or impulsively sinned?  Or did it involve a process, over time?  Was sin allowed to become your friend?

James 1:1-15 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. ¹⁵ Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

In my mind, the first “sin” scenario went something like this.  Every day, Eve would stroll through the garden, tending to it and admiring God’s handiwork.  When she came to the tree in the middle of the garden, Eve would linger, admiring its perfectly formed leaves, its luscious hanging fruit, and inhaling its enticing aroma. After lingering day after day, the aroma prompted her mind to imagine how sweet just one bite would taste and her body began to desire fulfillment.  You will notice, she hadn’t touched the forbidden yet, because when the serpent tried to twist God’s command, Eve told him, “God said we should not even touch the tree.”  Over months of lingering, desire was conceived,  sin was birthed and Eve reached out her hand.  Sin had become her friend.

Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.

 Once Adam and Eve “opened the door,” sin entered the world and has affected every person since that time.  For the first family it didn’t take long for friendship with sin to manifest itself in their children.  Genesis 4 speaks of a time when Cain brought a sacrifice to the Lord but instead of the “blood” sacrifice required by the Lord, Cain brought the fruit of his own labors; crops he had tended.  We aren’t given much information as to why Cain refused to bring a blood sacrifice, maybe he didn’t want to deal with the messiness involved in sacrificing a lamb, perhaps the crops he had tended grew especially well and with pride he presented what “he had accomplished” to God or maybe he just didn’t believe it really mattered as long as he gave God something.  We do know, however, that God did not accept this offering from Cain and Cain allowed anger to consume him.  God tells Cain to not be angry but just do the “right” thing.  Then God says something very interesting in Genesis 4:7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” God told him, “Sin desires to be your friend, but if you refuse its friendship, rule over it and offer the sacrifice I desire, I will accept you.” The sad end to this part of the story is that Cain could not see past the "door" and Sin became Cain’s friend.

I was reminded by a dear friend of the old saying, “Sin always takes you further than you ever thought you would go and you end up in places you never thought you would be.”  Sin does not become just a “casual” friend, content to share a cup of coffee every few years, just to “catch up.”  No, Sin will not be satisfied until it is your ONLY friend, consuming your time, your desires and your will.  Sin puts on a beautiful façade, luring and enticing until you embrace and take hold of its hand.  Before long you notice that Sin never leaves your side as you stroll down its wide smooth path.  It continues to surround you, until you become entangled and inseparable; its thoughts become your thoughts, its desires, your desires, its will, your will; Sin has become your friend!

IT IS TIME FOR A TRIP TO THE WELL

What was she thinking as she hurried to the well with her water pot?  Maybe it was a small bit of time that was hers alone.  Perhaps it was just another chore added to the drudgery of her life.   The day was heating up as she stopped to wipe her brow.  She knew the 6^th hour of the day was not the best time to draw water but hopefully, everyone else would be busy preparing the noonday meal.  She didn’t want to face the cold stares, the disdain that darkened the eyes of the other women or hear the thinly veiled whispers.  This wasn’t the life she had signed up for; it wasn’t the life of her childhood dreams; life was to be endured. Someday it would all be over but for now there was water to draw.  As she stooped to pick up her pot, she spied someone sitting by the well.  Just her luck, she would not even get to be alone.  And even worse, it was a man she would have to contend with.  But this wasn’t just any mundane day in her life.  This would be a day like no other she had ever or would ever experience again.  This would be her moment at the well.

In God’s universe, nothing just happens, it wasn’t just “by chance,” there are no coincidence; in the plan of God, everything is intentional.  John 4 tells the story of the intentional encounter at the well.  The story begins in verse 4, “But He needed to go through Samaria.”  This was not the normal route a Jew would travel from Judea to Galilee.  The Jews hated the Samaritans and went miles out of their way to avoid traveling through their town; but not Jesus.  Oh no, He intentionally cut right through Samaria where he knew he would find that exact well and arrive at the exact time to fill an outcast woman with joy and hope.

Our stories are not so different, we may not be a societal outcast but we all experience the loneliness, at times, of not being included in the inner circle.  Maybe we haven’t committed any great sins but we have allowed the burdens of life to keep us from experiencing the abundant blessing of God.  Perhaps it is just the mundane routine of life that is depressing your joy and you know there has to be more.  IT IS TIME FOR A TRIP TO THE WELL!!!  I know it may not be the best time right now, you may be in the heat of the battle or the midst of a fierce storm, but the pot is empty and IT IS TIME FOR A TRIP TO THE WELL!!!  This could be the day that Jesus says, “I must go through….because there is a woman; a man that is just waiting for a drink of Living Water.”  

This could be YOUR day.  Pick up the pot, wipe your brow, and start walking toward the well.  Jesus is waiting to fill you with cool, refreshing living water.  IT IS TIME FOR A TRIP TO THE WELL!!!

YOUR GREATEST AGGRAVATION

We all have that special person in our life that drives us absolutely crazy.  You can be floating along on Cloud 9 when suddenly their whiney voice brings you back to earth with a thud.  They will pop up at the most inopportune time; around the corner at Wal-Mart, the center table at your favorite restaurant or beside you at the stop light.  No matter how hard you try to avoid their usual haunts, they are always somewhere in your line of sight.  You begin to wonder if you are being followed.  Maybe you are and maybe they don’t even realize why they feel compelled to constantly seek after you.  Is it possible that you may be a God-ordained lifeline to the greatest aggravation in your life?

In Acts 16, Paul relates one of his experiences.  He had been traveling, preaching the gospel when he was asked to go to Philippi in Macedonia.  A lady, named Lydia along with her entire household, obeyed the gospel and persuaded Paul’s ministry team to stay at her home in Thyatira.  What a blessing to this traveling evangelist but it wasn’t time to relax just yet.

Acts 16:16-18 Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. ¹⁷ This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.”

As Paul and his group made their way to go pray, an “Aggravation” began to follow them.  Not only did she follow after them but constantly hollered at them, declaring them “Servants of the Most High God”.  Instead of being excited about the free publicity, this girl became an irritant to Paul.  The Bible tells us that she kept following them for days.  Perhaps they decided to take a different route but around the corner, there she stood.  Maybe they tried leaving just a little earlier or later one day; seemingly oblivious to the clock she would appear.  Finally, Paul had taken all he could take.  In fact, verse 18 says Paul was “greatly annoyed.”  NOT THE GREAT APOSTLE PAUL!!!!  Yes, the one and only…GREATLY ANNOYED.  Stopping suddenly, Paul turned around and spoke Words of Life to his “Greatest Aggravation.”

 ¹⁸ And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour.

Stop for just a minute; consider once again your “Greatest Aggravation.”  Perhaps it is not just coincidence that this person is always appearing right in your path.  Remember in your prayer time, how you have been asking God to use you?  Think about how you long to have a testimony to share alongside your Heroes of the Faith.  Do you think those testimonies just happen?  What if a testimony is born because God sends an aggravation into your life?  Now to the “Aggravation;” you may have the answer to the questions they have been asking.  If you will turn around; under the power of the Holy Spirit, you may be the key that helps to unlock the chains that have held them bound for so long.  Take a second look, through God’s eyes.  You may be a God-ordained lifeline to the “Greatest Aggravation” in your life.

BUT I DON'T WANT TO BE DIFFERENT!

1 Samuel 8:4-5 “Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, 5And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.

1 Samuel 8 relates a time in Israel’s history when they had wandered from God’s plan for their life and decided they just didn’t want to be different anymore. Samuel pleaded for the Israelites before God but God’s longsuffering was close to the end and He said, “If that’s what they want then give it to them! But first, tell them the consequence of such a request.” 

1 Samuel 8:10 “And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king. 11 And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. 12 And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to sow his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. 13 And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. 14 And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive yards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. 15 And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. 16 And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. 17 He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.

Maybe it was all the royal pageantry, possibly it was the lure of the “good life” that seemed to surround a king or perhaps they were just tired of having the “People of God” target painted on their backs.

1 Samuel 8:19-20 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; 20 That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.

The Children of Israel had forgotten something very important, THEY WERE DIFFERENT FOR A PURPOSE! It began with a covenant, included bloodshed, leading to the fulfillment of God’s plan for their life. God had made a covenant with Abraham and sealed it with circumcision. He promised to make Abraham’s seed a great nation. His plan was that they would follow God as He led them and spoke to them through an anointed servant. God wanted to be their judge, their provider and fight their enemies. The purpose of the Israelites was to trust wholly in God, glorify Him in the eyes of the heathen and be the mouthpiece pointing the way to Jesus Christ. It was all lost because THEY DIDN’T WANT TO BE DIFFERENT!

We are currently in the midst of a hotly contested Presidential Primary. The views range from one extreme to the other.  One of the candidates continues to push the belief that "we are the only civilized nation that does not offer its citizens (you fill in the blank)."  The rallying cry from supporters is "MAKE US LIKE OTHER NATIONS!" The candidates paint a picture of Utopia  until you examine the consequences of its enforcement. It will require heavier taxation on working Americans, allow more government encroachment into our lives, force us into supporting immoral decisions and burden our children and grandchildren with unbelievable debt. But, “NOW WE WILL BE LIKE EVERY OTHER NATION!

Have we forgotten, the United States was not founded to be like every other nation? Our country began with a covenant; The Declaration of Independence and was sealed with the Constitution. Our forefathers shed blood to establish this great nation and our sons and daughters have continued to spill blood to preserve the freedom and rights guaranteed by the Constitution. We were to be a Beacon of Hope to the rest of the world, a nation portraying the idea that a people allowed to live in freedom, dream, work hard and receive rewards earned from their labor would rise to unimaginable heights. We would invent, create and achieve things no other nation had ever accomplished. In doing so we would point the way to freedom and prosperity for oppressed people everywhere. Our ideals are rapidly being consumed because WE DON’T WANT TO BE DIFFERENT!

Ephesians 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.

Our salvation began with the shed blood of Jesus Christ and has been sealed with the Holy Spirit.  WE ARE DIFFERENT FOR A PURPOSE! God does not intend for His Church to BE LIKE EVERYONE ELSE! We are to be a light to those in darkness pointing the way to salvation through Jesus Christ. It requires a transforming of our mind from a WORLD VIEW to a GOD VIEW. We have to stand firm against evil and sometimes deny ourselves things that seem so desirable.

Many times it may feel like you have a target painted on your back, but before you cry, I DON’T WANT TO BE DIFFERENT, remember you have been redeemed with a great price. If you want to have the favor of God on your life, enjoy His abundant blessing and fulfill His purpose for you, YOU CAN’T BE LIKE EVERY OTHER PERSON, YOU ARE GOD’S CHILD!

THE BLESSING SECRET

Devotions were finished and those with special needs came forward. I asked how I could pray for one of the young ladies who came. Her answer began my search for The Blessing Secret.

“Jane” asked a simple question, “How come I’m not blessed like everyone else? I want to be blessed too.” I gave her the religiously-correct answer and prayed with her. Her question would not leave me alone until it finally became a drum beat in my heart. Why are some blessed and others struggle? Is there a key that will unlock blessing in your life?

Have you ever asked for anything from God and received an answer?

Have you ever asked for anything from God and He didn’t answer?

Have you ever wondered why God seems to bless some people all the time?

Have you ever wondered why you are not blessed?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you need to read The Blessing Secret.

The Blessing Secret is a new bible study outlining 6 keys that will unlock God’s blessing in your life. It is in a study guide format complete with scriptures and relevant questions at the end of each lesson. The Blessing Secret is suitable for personal or group bible study and can be ordered with or without a Power Point presentation.

To order, contact Susan at susan.niswonger@sbcglobal.net.
Bible Study Booklet - $5.00
Bible Study Booklet w/Power Point Presentation - $10.00

My prayer is that this new study will enrich your faith journey as you unlock The Blessing Secret.