Promise Twelve A Blessing for Blessers

Did you ever notice how a piece of chocolate works as a tremendous motivational pick-me-up? Life can be going miserably, all hell can be breaking loose, and one Hershey's Bar can change your life. At least it seems that way. I don't know if it is the escapism or the endorphins, I just feel better for a while.

Guess what, blessing others has the same effect. Reaching out and being someone's chocolate has an incredible way of ushering in peace and joy. When you genuinely touch someone who is hurting, or encourage someone who is down, or extoll someone who has acheived, you also experience blessing. In fact, that is God's way. Listen

Promise Twelve
"The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed: those who help other are helped."
Proverbs 11:25

This is becoming rare in our world tainted with intitlement mentality. It seems like most folks have an outstretched hand seeking what they believe is rightfully theirs rather than having a hand out for the purpose of blessing. That is where we can make a really massive difference. Try patting someone on the back. Try buying someone a cup of coffee or bag of groceries. Smile more! Laugh at life! Be infectuous with joy.
BE CHOCOLATE! You will find an abundance of blessing coming your way...so much so that you can share it all even more.
Pastor Jim

Promise Eleven Free From Fear

Promise Eleven
"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging." Psalm 46:1-3

Have you seen Chicken Little lately? He seems to be everywhere. With that little guy it's either a falling sky, a warming planet, a raging sea, an world economy on the bust, or the coming of the Antichrist. He runs screaming through the countryside with his hands on his head and his mouth open wide. FEAR! It is everywhere.

I recently had a person in my office who was absolutely scared to death the Global Warming was about to bring a swift end to the population of Polar Bears on the Arctic rim. Hmm I had another person that was totally freaked out that the Antichrist was about to issue the mark of the beast by way of debit cards. I mean, come on! If you're going to be frightened of something, be afraid for your unbelieving neighbor.

In these increasingly troubled and fear-driven times, it is awesome to know that we have something different to do that freak out. This promise tells us the earth could give way under our feet and we'd still have a refuge and strength. So what if President Obama opens our borders to suicide-bombing Islamists. We have a very present help in times of trouble. And hey, trouble is coming. But the fear that wants to tag along with trouble is not from God. Rather, he has given us deep courage, a covering of love, and a mind that doesn't reverberate with terror whenever Chicken Little peeps up.
Pastor Jim

Promise Ten An Inexhaustible Supply

Five million. I had it in my hands. I remember counting it out, laying each crisp one hundred increment bill out on the table. I was buying a car, and man was it expensive. The stack of money was incredible. Actually, by the time I was done, I had several stacks of crisp new bills. I slowly pushed it all across the table to the salesman. I'm not sure, but I think I recall that he drooled. I might have cried. But whichever the case, I drove away with a brand spanking new blue Renault, four cylinder sedan. Complete with windshield wipers and a spare tire in the trunk.
I was in Colombia, South America, and the money was in Colombian pesos not dollars.
Had ya goin didn't I?

Money, it always seems to be in short supply. I rarely get to rush out and spend more that a ten dollar bill on anything frivolous. Impulsive buying went out the door in the first few years of married life. Now don't get me wrong. I'm not starving, the bills are being paid, and my wife and I live quite comfortably and satisfied. But sometimes the flesh wants to be able to take a cruise, or fly to Athens, or sit behind the wheel of a sleek Corvet. (Probably couldn't fold myself into it anyway!) Do you ever feel that way?

I could go on with that mindset, but I have something better. You see, not only are we as believers promised a city in which the streets are paved with gold, we a given complete assurance that the Lord will take care of us while we journey through earthly life. Listen,

"And my God will supply all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

I can honestly say, in my years walking with Jesus, I have never had a true need go unmet. Whether it was the paying of a medical bill for a kid, or food, or utilities, or housing, or money to share with a missionary, we never lacked. The supply was always there. It seems like God knows when to borrow from our treasures stored up in heaven and give us the small loan we need to get buy. Cool thing is there is no interest. Remember though, we are to lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven. We do that by giving, not seeking. We store up in a heavenly bank account by blessing our local church. We add to it by being faithful stewards of the funds that actually came from the Lord in the first place. If we do these simple things that tend to go against our fleshly desires, an inexhaustible supply is ours. And you know, God is generous enough to bless us beyond our needs from time to time.
Pastor Jim

Promise Nine Strength in Financially Troubled Times

This is one of my all-time favorite passages.
Philippians 4:12-13
"I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Somehow, we tend to equate strength with prosperity and blessing. We take what comes our way and make it part of our character as if the material circumstances of our lives actually mean anything. Oh, don't get me wrong. I like nice things like paychecks, food anytime I want it, a house, car, boat, and a bike. But should it all be taken, as it is happening to many, will I be any less a man of faith? Now that is the question.

Paul's confession is that he'd learned how to handle both need and abundance. His attitude remained the same in both. I believe he was thankful when he was blessed, and expectant when he was lacking in the accoutrements of life. In any and all situations, his strength came from Christ. He was strong in the inner man. His character was solidly Godly.

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" is just that. I can do, or go through anything because Christ's strength is at work within me. Thank God for that! How about you? Do you get low in spirit when things don't seem to go according to your expectations? If so, seek out Jesus. Other things quickly become less important when you are in his strong presence.
Pastor Jim

Promise Eight A Growing Faith

Faith is like riding a bicycle. The problem is at my age, the bike hangs on a wall most of the time.

A while back, a fine Spring day dawned, and I thought to myself, "Man, this would be a great day to go bike riding." As you surmise, the bike had been attached to the wall all winter, basically collecting dust. With great motivation, anticipation, and a burst of energy, I pumped up the tires, oiled the sprocket, and put on my helmet. Seven minutes and thirty-three seconds later, the bike was being hanged on the wall and the helmet was put back on the workbench. My thighs were screaming for mercy. I couldn't catch my breath. I felt no pulse. (That's because my heart was beating so fast it had become one, long, steady beep in my chest.) I will not mention how my backside hurt. (Sorry, I just did.) Again, a lesson was learned. To get in shape for bike riding, one must begin slowly and work up. The first couple of journeys are made around the block on a flat surface, no wind of course. Then comes the first little incline. Finally, you work up enough stamina to take on a trail. From there, anything is possible. Listen to this promise.

Promise Eight
James 1:2-4
"Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything."

We know that various degrees of trial come our way, testings that mirror riding a bike up a steep incline. Everything hurts. It's difficult to continue. You can't see the top of the hill because your neck is bowed downward in the effort. Still, the finish line is getting closer. The more you climb those hills, the stronger you will be. Keep your heart bowed in a prayerful effort. Keep your service to others pumping on the pedals of your love. Keep envisioning the Lord waiting for you at the finish line with a cool cup of water and a rest. Then, after you've caught your breath and basked in the accomplishment, he'll turn and point toward the next big hill, or moutain. At least your stamina will have increased. What a ride of faith our life in Christ can be! Keep pumping away, my friend, and pray for me as I take the bike off the wall again this spring.
Pastor Jim

Promise Seven To Bless Your Treasure

Yey, we've moved beyond worry. We've been clothed and fed. We kicked anxiety right into powerful prayer. We rested! Now, it seems, we go to the Bank. Yes! Finally! Money! Or is it?

Promise Seven
Matthew 6:19-21
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and wehre thieves do not break in and steel. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Okay, earthly bank accounts aren't quite the focus. This is more of a heart-thing.
Really, what the Lord is saying is: "It's not the economy, Stupid!" (Sorry, I took a little license there.) We zero in or zero out on what happens to our checkbooks and IRAs, forgetting that it is all going to go up in smoke. Some of it probably has already. "My lands," you say. "What am I going to retire on?" You just forgot that God promised to clothe, feed, and house you. Oops!

Look, you must ask yourself where your heart is. Is it here, or is it there? Have you found that you can actually trust the Lord in all things? Has his love so penetrated your thought process that you can't think of much of anything beyond being with him? If so, that's your treasure. You see, we long to latch onto something of value, even great value. We're built for it. But sin has tainted us to the point that we attribute value to the wrong things. Jesus knew this, and that is why he took out the cloth and spray bottle and cleaned the fog away from our eyes.

The ONLY thing of eternal value is our love for Jesus. From that love flows all the good things that bring us real peace and happiness. Obedience drips from that love. Faithfulness oozes. Joy jumps out of it. Peace permeates it. How can we be so dumb as to believe that money will make us happy!

With the President's big bailout will come a new taxation of the money you so enjoy. You may as well get used to giving it up! That isn't a fear tactic, it is simply the truth. Dollars and cents, pesos and Euros are temporal. Ceasar will come and take them. But your heart...well now, that's another thing all together. Store up your hearts desire in the person of the true King of Kings. He will never let you down. In fact, he will take your loving deposits and store them up where interest and inflation cannot devalue. There is no treasure rot in the Kingdom. Hallelujah.

So, to keep from paying Ceasar now, give more to the work of the ministry. May as well let the church spend it rather than the government. We'll do some real bailing.
We bail some people out of hell.
Pastor Jim

Promise Six To Give You Peace

"Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praise shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life." (The Message)

And there it is again. DON'T FRET! Isn't it canny how the Word goes right to one of our major battles in life? DON'T WORRY! Sounds condemning, but it's not. Rather than beat us down, Paul finds reveals a way for us to redirect our energy. We are to turn our fright in to fight. We're to transform anxiety into an acknowledgement of the mighty power of God.

There was an old hymn I grew up with that was themed with a great admonition. "Take it to the Lord in prayer. In his arms he'll take and shield thee, take it to the Lord in prayer." Maybe you forgot the words. Just hum a few bars. That will do just fine. The fact is, we find our solace, our peace, our strength, and our victory within the presence of the Living God. We get their through prayer and praise.

Don't settle for a little folding of the hands in worry. Go for the upraised hands of one who knows his God. Worry will most definitely be displaced when you do.
Pastor Jim