Week of November 11 -15

FIRST - veterans - thank you! also to all who are still active - thank you!

Monday - wednesday's theme is a 3 part series titled:

"BEHAVIORS MATTER"

have you ever WONDERED, IF THERE IS A ROOT CAUSE, THAT INHIBITS US RECEIVING GOD'S PROMISES?

Over the next 3 days, we will examine how human thinking causes us to "Question God's Behavior, Creating Conflict in Life, and Why the Last Thing We Do, Matters." 

Gear-up and loose your fear of heights. On this adventure we'll be soaring over the fields of human logic. 

Wednesday Part iii 

“What is Last - matters”. 

Don't miss parts I and II below!

Message 1122014c

Have YOU EVER wondered how your last behavior effects the rest of your day?

Why does the last thing you do matter?

Matthew 21:28-32

28 But what think ye? A [certain] man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard. 29 He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. 30 And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I [go], sir: and went not. 31 Whether of them twain did the will of [his] father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen [it], repented not afterward, that ye might believe him. 

Notice, it’s not what you say, feel, think, or act like "at first" that defines your next steps. – It is what "we do last" that fills in our future destiny. Think about a past argument or intense disagreement with someone. How it ended mapped out your immediate future relationship and may even negatively influence much of your activities that day.

If the disagreement had no resolve, although its outcomes may not be forever, the next part of your timeline lives out the ending. If the same disagreement ends in a mutual resolution, the only thing that changes is how life moves forward. It doesn't change the history of the issue, just the outcome of it. 

With God, when our mindful actions show forgiveness and repentance, and our behaviors support those decisions, what we did last - can offer a joy filled day.  It's not a hard concept to understand. Simply consider how you're ending ineractons with people, family, and God, before you walk away.

Remember, it isn’t how you act first – it’s how you act last - that matters.  

Tuesday Part ii

“creating conflict in your life”. 

Message 1122014b

Have YOU EVER wondered about how conflict is born in your life?

II Timothy 2:22, 23\

22 Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23 But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife.

Important words are "generate," and "strife."

Generate means to "Give birth to something." As we know, birthing takes a seed, and time for the seed to mature. Strife doesn't come instantly. It accumulates over time and has a recognizable seed that started it. 

Strife means, "our spheres of conflict." Sphere indicates they surround us and could have recurrent implications. You might get frustrated about the same thing, over and over again. The sphere also indicates, strife can form with anything or anyone we have contact.

This isn’t talking about just dealing with people and things. It's also describing how we deal with God. It is easy as we discussed yesterday to find ourselves questioning God's intervention strategies. Think about frustration and strife. It is born from any dispute, even participating in a "foolish dispute" with God. The more frustrated we get thinking He's not dealing with our circumstances or it's not fast enough, or it's not the way we hoped He would, it pushes us into frustration and strife.

We don’t have to know everything.

There are a lot of questions we should not labor over.   We don’t need to understand everything to believe (agree with) the Lord and the fulfillment of His promises. 

Our enemy thrives on ignorance, arrogance, and darkness.  When people don’t understand, that’s when the enemy's army is able to get in and cause problems. Problems, frustration, and strife all temp us to question God with foolish and unlearned things. 

It was a great relief to me to know I don’t need the answers to all questions my mind generates.  I don’t need to know every little thing to increase in faith (knowing more of God's Words) and live by those Words to have joy and see victory.  I just need to know what God wants me to know and do what He wants me to do.  

So do you.   What we need to know is what God wants us to do so that His promise can be fulfilled.

Notice vs. 22.  It’s pure hearted conversations and questions with God that vs 21 says constructs a vessel of honor.  We should be vessels of honor. Much of that honor comes from understanding, what God knows, we don't always need to know too.

Simply put, I don't need to know everything He's doing.  I just need to "Trust Him." 

Monday part i

“QUESTIONING GOD'S BEHAVIOR”. 

Message 1122014

have you EVER QUESTIONED THE WILL OF GOD, THE MOVE OF gOD, OR WHY YOU FEEL GOD IS NOT LISTENING or helping?

Over the next three days we'll discuss God's behavior. It's interesting that God placed Scripture devoted to that specific area in our Bible. He knew we'd eventually question His intervention skills.

II Peter 3:9

Remember that the writer, Peter, was the one Jesus positioned to lead the Church after He left. Jesus let us know that beyond contact with Him, His Father in Heaven was having contact with Peter also. Below we find what the "Rock" Christ chose to build His Church on, was told to share with us. 

9 The Lord is not slack  concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

It's time to roll up our sleeves, investigate the words used, and study to show ourselves approved to make sure we understand what God wants us to understand.

Verse 9 begins with, "The Lord is not slack."

Slack needs defining. It implies; “I am slow, I delay. It still means moving forward, but at an unhurried pace. 

Peter needed to address this because people may allow human logic to cloud whether God is concerned with a speedy recovery in the issues we face.  Peter's focus is, "God is concerned on helping us fix our lives."  God is not slow to react. And whether it is Him, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Angels or other humans, God moves quickly in our defense to fix things.

Matthew chapter 6 tells us that when we pray to God for help on things we need, He knows before we ask what is needed. How much faster can that be? It's not about God knowing He can help, it's about us having confidence in Him first for help.

We should come to a place of confidence in our God, that His behavior is always directed to thinking the best of us, prepared, and ready for actions to help us.  If we understood what Peter and Jesus were saying, instead of reciting a list of issues when we pray, we'd simply say, "Father, thank you for already knowing what's going on, and thank you for quickly stepping in and helping a resolve." Yep - That simple - Try it - You might like it more than the "begging for help routines."