The Patient Patient

 1 Corinthians 13:4  Love is patient,love is kind.It does not envy,it does not boast,it is not proud.

We have all experienced the dreaded wait at the doctors office.  Often you might even see a sign that says if you are more than 15 minutes late that you have to reschedule. Once you've been waiting for 20 minutes and then still not seen for another 10 to 15 minutes can have one quite aggravated.  Then once you are called  to the back you may be put in a cold room with just a hospital gown on waiting for another 15-20 minutes waiting for the doctor to finally come in to stay for 5 to 10 minutes. Seems as if a whole lot of time was wasted waiting.  We really should be using this time talking to God.

Ecclesiastes 7:8  Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in is better than the proud in spirit.   We are to be patient and not be angered by mundane attitudes.  Ecclesiastes 7:9 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.  So there  is no need to get proud and puffed up over something you can't control.

I have learned that if you grin and bear it, then declare  that it's  not going to ruin your day or attitude that things tend to work out for the better. Being patient is bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaints.  In so many words just try to be peaceable and patient while you are waiting at your next appointment.

Casting Stones

John 8:7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "Let any of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her."
No one is perfect and no one should portray that they are.  It is totally unacceptable for a leader of any kind to use a conversation that was held in confidence as their next sermon or discussion. It is also considered inappropriate for a leader to tell  unconfessed sins just because you haven't confessed your sin to them in front of the whole  congregation.  This can leave one feeling totally rejected with feelings of betrayal.  These things need to be stopped beause it's gives one the wrong impression about what  going to church really means.   It causes people to stop going to church and they then have their doubts about who God really is.
In John 8 is the story of a woman in which people were about to stone to death beause of her infidelities and Jesus steps in and ask if anyone in the crowd was perfect because if so let them cast the first stone. No one was able to cast that stone because no one is perfect.  In Matthew 7:3-4 "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brothers eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye."  How can you say to your brother,'Let me take the speck out of your eye',when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? Leaders should not make their sermons into a song and dance for a whole congregation to hear about something that was told in confidence. Be aware of unguarded talk.

Crown of Glory

On my daughters birthday this year she walked around most of the day with a crown on her head.  She walked around school and home boastfully with her "crown of glory" until she laid down for sleep.
A crown of glory is a reward of victory or mark of honor  given to a person or particuliar group of people that give God worshipful praise, honor and thanksgiving.  In Proverbs  4:8-10 Exalt her and she shall promote thee: she shall  bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory she shall deliver to thee. Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many.  This all pertains to wisdom.  Wisdom is the crown of glory we all should wear.
In 1 Peter 5:3-5  tells us that   Neither as being  lord's over God's heritage, but being examples to his flock.  And when the  chief  Shepard shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth away not. Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder.  Yea, all of you be subject one  another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.  We are to be examples to other christians so that our "crown " won't fade away.

What you Sow......

When trying to fully under and the true things of God we have to be patient and make sure our source of inspiration is of the true living word.  Recently God put it in my heart to delve in to the who,what,when,why,where and how to properly sow our seeds unto God.   It had been instilled in me that giving 10% of my paycheck was the proper way to sow my seed unto God into the form of money being put into a collection plate on Sunday mornings.   As seasons changed and I matured in my walk with God I begin to see where there are man made traditions and rituals we practice in religion compared to true apostolic order.  God is God and man is man.  Man has made up so many rituals and traditions that all of us in some way form or fashion have been affected by.  We have to be careful of ministries and church leaders who are not falling in line with the apostolic order by not teaching what God is really saying and not slanting things to their own advantage.
There are key words,defitnitions and plenty of bible scripture to help us get a better understanding on what sowing a seed really signifies.  Merriam-Webster's defitnition of sow 1:  to plant seed for growth especially for gathering. 2: to set something in motion: to begin an enterprise. Other defitnitions of sow include to scatter seed upon the earth: plant, to strew with, to introduce into a selected environment : plant, to spread abroad : disperse.  These defitnitions describe sow as an action that needs to be taken in order for something to begin. You have to  first plant a seed in order for it t grow.  We also have to realize that in order for a seed to grow that it must be watered and fertilized.
The next key word is offering. What exactly is an offering? An offering is an act of one who offers, something offered;especially: a sacrafice ceremonially offered as a part of worship, a contribution to the support of a church, something offered for sale or patronage.   So when we are giving a seed offering we contributing to the support of a church or ministry.  You will only be blessed by an offering unto God if it comes from your heart. For God loves a cheerful giver.  We must be careful that we don't fall into a trap when sowing into ministries.  No where in the bible does God give us an exact dollar amount to sow.  He simply wants us to give 10% of your harvest.
The best defitnition of harvest is the season for gathering crops.  In this day in age we would refer to this as a pay day of sorts. This is the day where you will be paid for all your hard work.  God wants 10% of it.  Now this doesn't mean that a seed or a harvest have to be monetary but it does have to be something of significant value.  You can sow unto God with time.  The amount of time you spend in prayer,in studying his word, volunteering.

We are in charge of working out our own salvation.  When it is time for judgement day the pastor,preacher,prophet,apostle to whom  you have been learning from will not be there with you.  These leaders are there to teach and help you acquire the things that God has promised.  If  we are not careful we can unknowingly put a price on God.  God's love is priceless.  In the past few months I have come to the realization that there are ministries that get people to sow into there ministry by means of making you think this is what God wants you to do and making you feel as if you don't belong.  We all belong to God whether we believe it or not. The devil is using as what I would call  a tactical warfare method in the spirit and if we are not careful we may fall right into the devils trap. If you are not careful  money can cause more problems than what it's worth.  In this day in age people are in need and but are putting their wants in to the wrong things.  People are more interested in the glitter and gold.  God is telling us to read the fine print.  There are consequences to every choice we make.   There are so many ways for you to sow unto God without it being the collection plate.  The phrase so far this year for me has been use what you've got and improve what's already been started.  What we all must realiaze is that sowing unto God is unmeasurable. It is truly something you must do from your heart. In all instances in the Bible that refer to tithing refer to 10% of their harvest.  In order for you to have a harvest you have to have planted some seeds first.  Once you have planted that seed you also have to maintain that seed by watering it and fertilizing it so you can keep some of those weeds from popping up and causing mass destruction.   If we are not careful the devils tatics to distract us from the truth that will blind you and have you in a heap of confusion.   When I say learn God for yourself I mean it from the bottom of my heart.  If you always take what someone else says about God and not search and seek what they have said for yourself you are doing yourself a diservice.  Let God show you who he is.  If you read his word he will show you the truth.

The Greatest is Love

The Greatest is Love
"What if I could speak all languages of humans and of angels?If I did not love others I would be nothing more than a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.What if I could prophesy and understand all secrets and all knowledge?And what if I had faith that moved mountains?I would be nothing unless I loved others.What if I gave away all that I owed and let myself be burned alive?I would gain nothing unless I loved others.Love is kind and patient never jealous,boastful,proud or rude.Love isn't selfish or quick tempered.It doesn't keep a record of wrongs that others do.Love rejoices in the truth,but not in evil.Love is always supportive,loyal,hopeful and trusting.For now there are faith,hope, and love.But of these three,the greatest is love." I Corinthians 13:1-7,13

Virus Protection

Recently my laptop got an infection with a numerous amount of viruses that had the capability to shut down all normal functions of my computer. This virus seemed to be so bad that I just knew that everything I had saved on it was going to be lost.  So I took my computer to a friend who fixes computers.  Of course he had to wipe my computer clean.  I was overjoyed that my computer was functioning again but was not too thrilled about all the things that had  been lost.  

My 12 year old later logged onto my laptop under his name and password and did some searching and found all that was lost.  He was able to retrieve all the information that I thought were gone.  This in a sense is what God is saying to us.  In order for us to retrieve those that are lost that we have to go through His Son,Jesus Christ Our Personal Lord and Savior so we can use His name and password in order for us to gain access to not only God but the keys to salvation.   John 3:17 states For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge(to reject,condemn,to pass sentence on) on the world,but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.

 Virus protection software is designed  to prevent viruses,worms and trojan horses from getting onto a computer as well as remove malious software code that has already infected a computer.  We should look at the bible as our virus protection.  The bible is designed to prevent certain distractions and mayhem from affecting our lives by reading the word and by also helping to remove what has already been damaged in our lives. Psalm 119:105-112 MSG reads By your words I can see where I am going: they through a beam of light on my dark path. I've committed myself and I'll never turn back from living under your righteous order. Everything is falling apart on me,God; put me together again with your Word. Festoon me with your finest sayings,God;teach me your holy rules.My life is as close as my own hands,but don't forget what you have revealed. The wicked do their best to throw me off track,but I don't swerve an inch from your course. I inherit your book on living; It's mine forever--what a gift!And how happy that makes me!I concentrate on doing exactly what you say--I always have and always will.  

Empty Sink

For several days in a row I would run a sink full of water for my dishes to turn back around to the water being drained out.  Each time before running the water I placed the drainer trap in the sink and  had run water to see if it was staying in,and it passed my initial inspection and it seemed to have held the water.  While waiting for the water to cool the water had apparently drained out leaving me quite baffled. Then as I ran the water again this came to me; are we properly testing the spirits?  Are we making sure our ear and eye gates being guided by the correct spirit or is it of one that can give you a temporary fix to a problem but in all actuality drained you quicker because it was not of the right spirit. The bible states in 1 John 4:1  Beloved,believe not every spirit,but try the spirits whether they are of God, because many of false prophets have gone out into the world.  Thessalonians 5:21 states Test all things,hold fast to that which is good.  In this day in age we have to gird ourselves (Luke 12:35 Let your loins be girded, about and your lights burning;) and make sure that we get to know the word of God for ourselves not just on Sunday's.  The more you get to know His word the easier it will be for you to discern what is from God and what is not of God. We don't want to be that sink we think is full of  hot soapy water when we are actually that empty sink with dirty dishes that still need to be washed. Acts 3:19  tells us to Repent ye therefore.and be converted,that your sin's be blotted out,when the times of refreshing shall come into the presence of the Lord.  Repent means to turn away from sin and dedicate one's self to the amendment of ones life. It also means regret and to change ones mind.  If you are battling with the same things over and over again, then maybe it's time for a change so you can start to enjoy life the way God intended for us.