How you can be pleasing to God even in the most difficult times. part 4

The title to this series is important because as Christians we know that we face difficult times. How do we know this? We have already faced many trials in the past and the future probably holds much the same for us; and secondly, the Bible tells us to expect tough times as a way of validating our faith and causing it to grow. So, how can we face even the most difficult circumstances and remain faithful to God?
First, it goes without saying that we need to be Christian. The only way a person can be faithful is to actually have faith.

Hebrews 11:6 (NASB95) And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him

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It is faith in God that is the motivation for all we do. Our hearts cry out "Abba, Father" and that makes what we do acceptable to Him. Second, we need to understand that God brings difficult times into our lives to validate or test our faith. Third, we need to see each test as a way to propel us to greater faith. It is God's way of conforming us to the image of His Son, and knowing that we can count it all joy when we enter various trials. Fourth, when we find ourselves at a loss within a trial we have a God who is ready and willing to give us the wisdom we need to persevere through any trial. These four things were covered in the first three parts of this series.
There is one other thing that will help us get through the tough times. It will be easier to get through any trial when we keep our eyes on the outcome that God intends for us when we are faithful.

James 1:12 (NASB95) Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

James wants us to know that the outcome of each trial, no matter how disturbing, is blessing. The trial has only one purpose in God's plan and that is to validate or approve the Child of God as one, who like His Son, has faith in Him. The outcome of that validation is the crown of life. Notice also that James gets back to the core of the motivation for a Christian. James writes that those who are approved and who receive the crown of life are those who love God. All we do in faith is done because we love Him and want to please Him. That is why it hurts so much when we fail in any particular trial. We feel it keenly and seek forgiveness as soon as possible.
Next time we will see why it is that we sometimes fail when facing a difficult trial.
Yours in Christ,
Jeff

How you can be pleasing to God even in the most difficult times. part 3

How can we be pleasing to God in the most difficult of times? First, we need to understand that there are active forces working against us and they were covered in the first part of this series. Secondly, we need to understand that God is at work to use trials in our lives to make us into the image of His Son. We need to understand that trials are not necessarily negative, even in the most troubling of times. They are all meant to further our deepest desire, which is to be more like Christ. James wrote these words concerning the purpose of the trials we face.  

James 1:2-4 (NASB95) Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. ⁴ And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

We can face trials, considering it all joy, when we know the purpose behind them and the potential good they can bring if we go through them well. God has made certain promises to His children when they are facing tough times.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (NASB95) No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

The first promise is that no matter the circumstances we are not facing anything that countless others have not faced. We are not being singled out and given a trial that no one else has faced. We can also know that there are many others who have faced the same thing and come out the other side safe and sound and more like Jesus for it. The second promise is that whatever we go through, there is always a way through it maintaining our desire to be like Him and to hear the words, "well done my good and faithful servant." Please notice that the "way of escape" is not to get out of the trial, but to go through it well, to endure it. The trying circumstance is not really enjoyable in itself but its purpose is to give us our hearts desire which is to be more like Jesus so we can have joy through the pain and anguish of the experience. James writes that the testing of our faith produces endurance and that we should not try to escape prematurely from the trial, which is our first impulse, but to "let endurance have its perfect result."

What happens if, when facing a trial, we cannot see the way through, when we don't know what to do while we endure the time of trial? James writes that we should ask God for wisdom.
James 1:5-8 (NASB95) But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. ⁶ But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, ⁸ being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

If one of His children ask Him for wisdom in getting through the trial God will certainly give it in abundance. There is only one caveat to asking God for wisdom in moving through the trial well. We must ask in faith. That simply means that we ask believing. Believing what? We need to believe that the trial is being used by God to bring about His plan and our ultimate desire. We need to want to go through the trial well. If part of us wants to bail out of the trial or act in a sinful way through the trial we are obviously not one in our desire. James writes that such a man is double minded and unstable in all his ways.

Beloved, we need to be resolute in these two things. One, God is at work in us to both will and do His good pleasure. Two, Our desire is the same as God's is for us, namely to become more like Jesus. If we hold fast to these two things and we ask God for wisdom in the midst of a trial we can be assured that He will provide.

Until next time, Yours in Christ
Jeff

How you can be pleasing to God even in the most difficult of times. part 2

So how do we get through the most trying of times in the most Christ-like way? As we touched on briefly last time the key really revolves around our perspective towards our lives and on the purpose of God for our lives. Is our goal for our life the same as God’s or would we rather see who dies with the most toys? If we are Christian our goal in life should be to be more and more like Jesus every day. With this perspective comes an understanding that we have not yet arrived and much work is needed. This kind of attitude is in tune with God’s purpose for us and will allow us to see the harshest of times in the most positive of light.

• Romans 8:28-29 (NASB95) And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;

God is at work in His children and is able to turn the worst of situations into something that works towards our ultimate good. In God’s eyes, turning us into the image of His Son is that ultimate good. With this in mind let us see what James says about the Christian and the trials that he faces.

• James 1:2-4 (NASB95) Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

The first thing that Christians need to do in order to take tough times in stride is to change the way they look at the trials they face. James tells us to “consider it all joy” when we encounter trials. James is not telling us that trials are joyous occasions because obviously they are not times full of joy. But what he is telling us is to look past them to the ultimate outcome and if we do that every trial can actually bring joy as we understand that our goal is being reached. If my outlook is such that to be like Jesus is more desirous than anything else, then whatever befalls me that contributes to fulfilling that desire will give me a joyful attitude toward even the toughest of trials. James tells us this when he writes that joy through trials comes by knowing certain things.

• James 1:2-4 (NASB95) Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Paul said it like this.

• Romans 8:16-18 (NASB95) The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

James and Paul faced their trials “knowing” certain truths. What is it that they knew and want us to realize? We need to understand that God is at work in us and that everything we encounter will ultimately work out for our good. We need to know that trials are the way in which our faith is tested and stretched and the only outcome of a trial well done is conformity to the image of God’s Son!
Does this understanding actually make trials less painful? Well truthfully, yes and no. Trials will still be very difficult and disturbing but otherwise they wouldn’t be trials would they? On the other hand a difficult trying situation is much easier to take if we understand that the end of it all is meant to give us what we desire more than anything else. Truly then when I talk about my trials and tribulations I can think of them in a joyous manner knowing that they are the delivering system for that which I desire more than anything else in this world.
This is just the beginning of our journey, stay tuned.

How you can be pleasing to God even in the most difficult of times. part 1

Within the heart of every believer is the desire to hear the words, “well done my good and faithful servant.” As much as we desire to be pleasing to God, we often find the task to be tougher than we first thought. So this begs the question, if we desire to please God why is it so hard to live out? One of the reasons for our difficulty in living out the God pleasing life is that we are wrestling against three forces that are actively at work to stop us. Those three forces are the Devil, the World and our flesh (our natural propensity to desire sinful pleasures). We are cautioned by the writers of the Bible to be circumspect in regards to these malevolent forces.

 

• 1 Peter 5:8 (NASB95) Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

•  1 John 2:15 (NASB95) Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

•  Romans 8:6-8 (NASB95) For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

 

These three forces are one reason that the life directed at pleasing God is difficult, but what is the other reason? The other reason has to do with the purpose of God. That may sound strange especially in a day when people generally think that God’s purpose in life is to make Christians healthy and wealthy. Today most think that God’s business is to make sure we are happy and that life brings as little adversity as possible. Such a view is not wise mainly because it is not Biblical and therefore not true. You see, when we are born of God, when we become Christians, we become new creatures. Our hearts begin to cry out, “Abba (daddy), Father” where before there was only unbelief. Even so our birth into the family of God is only the beginning. Just like a newborn babe we have quite a bit of growing up to do. As parents we have an idea of what kind of people we want our children to grow up to be. We want our children to be fine upstanding citizens, or something like that. God has much the same goal with His children. God however does not have some vague concept that He wants His children to live up to, but He has a definite pattern. The pattern is His Son Jesus Christ. God is actively parenting us, if you will, to mold us into the image of His Son.

•  Romans 8:28-29 (NASB95) And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;

 Just like most areas of life, the way to judge what one has learned is through testing. People can talk a bold talk, about how good they are, how loving, merciful, or honest they are but the proof is always in the pudding. Talk is cheap, how do you respond under trials and tribulations; how do you respond under pressure? When we fail to measure up to our ideals under pressure we learn what we are truly like and what needs to improve. Life is a process of trails brought to us for the purpose of testing our faith, of exposing areas that need improvement. The standard of behavior is high and almost always goes against what comes “naturally” to us.

 

• Matthew 5:43-45 (NASB95) “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ 44 “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

 As we face each trial our faith stretches so that as time goes by we are able to face most situations as Christ would have.

 

Let’s sum up what we have learned so far, why is life so hard for those of us who want nothing else other than to please God? First, there are three forces actively at work to get us to stumble and Secondly, God is at work in us to expose our shortcomings and to get us to grow up into the stature of His Son. As we grow and as our faith stretches we are more able to live like we should and we will hear more often, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” As difficult as living like Jesus is, it does not diminish our desire to be pleasing to God.

 

The next few blogs will endeavor to give us some tips on how to face tough times without losing our bearings. We will learn how to face the most difficult of situations in such a way that they actually serve to uplift us instead of tear us down. After the trial we will see them as stepping stone to our goal of being pleasing to God. For now just know you are not alone in your heart’s desire to be pleasing to God and you are definitely not alone when you realize the difficulty of such a task.

Whatever Happened to the Church part 3

By now, hopefully, you have begun to cultivate a deeper love for God. As your love grows, reading the Bible and praying should become more frequent and enjoyable, though it may seem like a stretch right now as you try to recover what you lost as your love grew cold. If you are like I was, you may be having a tough time figuring out exactly how to cultivate a deeper love for God. Let me give you a pointer.
Spend time reading about God in the Bible. Get to know Him. As you get to know Him better your love and admiration will naturally begin to grow.

The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. ⁹ By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. ¹⁰ In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 1 John 4:8-10

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, ⁷ casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶ Just as it is written, "For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered." ³⁷ But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35-40

Can it really be this simple? Is it as simple as reading the Bible and our love will grow? Yes…if you are a Christian! You see, if you are a Christian you have living within you the Holy Spirit and you also have a heart that has been changed from a heart of stone to a heart of flesh that yearns after God. Your heart, if you are a Christian, already has a desire to know Him better, it is already crying out for Him. We sometime stifle that cry by neglecting what we should be doing, or doing sinful things that we know we shouldn't do, but the remedy is always the same.

So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— ¹³ for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. ¹⁴ For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. ¹⁵ For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" Romans 8:12-15

It is a natural thing for a Christian's love to grow as it learns more about his God and Savior. The process of this change is called sanctification. When Jesus prayed for the believers He was about to leave behind at His death He prayed this.

"I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.¹⁶ "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. ¹⁷ "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. ¹⁸ "As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ "For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. ²⁰ "I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word;   John 17:15-20

So begin your journey to a fulfilled and joyful Christian life by taking this simple step. Read the Bible and pray that He opens your heart further. Read and let your faith and love grow. It may be a struggle at first, but take it from me it is worth the effort. Be all you can be and want to be in Christ, search the Scripture to know God. Listen to what Jesus said about the nature of eternal life.

"This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. John 17:3 

The Apostle John also understood that the believer's heart cries out for God and also that he needs to grow his understanding of who God is.

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. 1 John 5:13
And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. 1 John 5:20

Yours in Christ, Jeff

Whatever happened to the church pt2

How can we have a fulfilling relationship with God? How do we get to a place where Sunday is not the only place that the presence of God is felt? How can we have a natural and easy going faith that is able to stand in awe of God under all circumstance? If these questions are one’s that you want answered you are in the right place.

Putting First Things First.

The first thing to understand in our quest for a better relationship with God is that we are pursuing just that, a real caring close relationship with God. We do not desire more dos and don’ts; we don’t desire more external lists of things to accomplish. We want to improve our relationship with God. Although God does desire and demand certain things from His people, He does not desire them to come with a detached attitude devoid of passion. When Jesus spoke to a church in the book of Revelation He had this to say as they became lukewarm in their love and devotion to Him and yet tried to keep the works going out of a sense of duty.

• ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. 16 ‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. Revelation 3:15-16 (NASB95)

This is unfortunately not uncommon and we all have to fight to maintain the love we once had for God. To another church Jesus said this,

• ‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; 3 and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. 4 ‘But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 ‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent. Revelation 2:2-5 (NASB95)

It is interesting to note that the church was still doing things that would be considered good, but they had lost their first love and that made their “works” unfit in the eyes of God. He tells them to do the deeds they did at first. Those deeds they were called to do are the same as deeds they were already doing except that they would be doing them from a motivation of a love for God. Jesus underlines the importance of our love relationship with God by placing anything less in the category of sin. Note that repentance was necessary on the part of the church that lost their first love. God is not interested in people adhering to a standard that comes from anywhere other than a heartfelt love for Him. This was one of the main complaints that God had against the Jewish people. They are His people and they have a wonderful history with Him and yet they often respond to Him out of duty and not from the heart.

• ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. Matthew 15:8 (NASB95)

His people were outwardly honoring Him by trying to be obedient but their hearts were not in it. This type of obedience leads more often than not leads to disobedience. When a person loves another, the one who loves desires more than anything to please the one who is loved. This always leads to a life of obedience. Disobedience in a loving relationship is the exception and not the rule. When disobedience occurs in a loving relationship there is a repentance, a desire to set things right. When obedience comes from anywhere other than a heart’s desire to please the one loved, God in this case, there is an ulterior motive for the obedience. It may be to see one-self as better than others or to earn the love of God. Obedience may come from a fear of God and a desire to stay out of Hell or it may come from a desire to earn favors from God during a tough time in life. There are many motivations which can result in sporadic obedience when simple love for God is not the motivation. This was true of the Jewish nation.

• Samuel said, “Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. 1 Samuel 15:22 (NASB95)

When a person loves God, he obeys the voice of God for love’s sake. God has no interest in a people who simply have a check list of requirements that they feel they must keep in order to please Him. He desires a relationship with His people, a relationship which acknowledges Him as the Creator God and where He loves and cares for His people as their benefactor. Both sides of the relationship come with responsibilities.

• “They shall be My people, and I will be their God; Jeremiah 32:38 (NASB95)

This is the desire of God. This is the will of God for you. Jesus prayed these words shortly before His death.

• “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; 21 that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. John 17:20-21 (NASB95)

Since this is the heart of God he will grant you your prayer as you ask Him to deepen your relationship with Him. Ask Him to begin to help you cultivate the close relationship you want with Him. Ask Him to deepen your love for Him and He will give you the desire of your heart.

• “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. John 14:13 (NASB95)

Congratulations, if you now understand that the Christian life is a life of relationship and not consists mainly of dos and don’ts you have begun down a path that ultimately leads to a life that is beyond anything you could ever image or hope for. It is a life that was meant to be lived by all of God’s children. Love God with all your heart and begin in His word by reading first John chapters 1 thru 3, meditating on what you read. Join us next week as we progress further in our study.



Jeff

Whatever Happened to Church?

As I survey the condition of the church in the United States I can’t help but ask the question, “What is going on?” There seems to be a huge disconnect in lives of the church people. We claim to be Christian but apart from Sunday our lives are extremely secular. We come to church hoping to hear a word which speaks to our condition, a word that will help us to live the lives we long for. Christians long to live lives in intimate communion with God. Most sermons are not helpful because they have become more like homilies than sermons. Pastors reach out and teach us to be kind or to be patient but those topics, as needful as they are, do nothing to deepen our vertical relationship with God. The reason people tend to be unkind or impatient or whatever is because their relationship with God is shallow or non-existent. When a people’s devotion to God is waning the following verse would never be true of them.

• They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. 44 And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common. Acts 2:42-44(NASB95)

Whatever happened to this concept of a robust, society challenging church? It is not as though Christian people are living disappointing lives on purpose; they know that something is wrong. I realize that some in the church have no desire to change, but I believe most are hungry for someone to lead them into a close and personal day to day relationship with God. What Christian wouldn’t desire this?

• Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” Galatians 4:6 (NASB95)

I am not bemoaning the condition of the church from a desire to see any church grow larger. Our church is a small congregation and the temptation is always to do things to bring about growth in numbers. As any pastor will tell you the only sure thing about churches growing bigger is that troubles usually grow at about the same rate. My concern is not with getting churches to grow in size but in spiritual maturity. You can see the immaturity in congregations by their lack of concern for the lost and the utilitarian way they view the church. What do I mean by an utilitarian view of the church? A utilitarian view of church is one that sees the church simply as a resource. Most Christians go to church to get something that they are missing during the week. They go wanting a word from God, an experience that somehow will awaken within them a sense of connection with God. Their week has been ordinary with no real sense of God’s presence and they crave what they do not have. So the majority go to church to “worship.” We should not be coming to church for the purpose of worship, because worship should be our every moment experience as Christians. To say we go to church to worship is like saying we go to church to breathe. Well, breathing (worshipping) may be one thing that we do at church but hopefully you don’t wait till Sunday to breathe (worship) and you any breathing (worshipping) we do on Sunday is just an outgrowth of our natural daily desire to praise God and live in His presence. If we have not been breathing all week there is no way just going to church will start that process we are dead. Going to church to worship when worship is not a normal activity during the week is like being rushed to the emergency room and being placed on life support. As soon as the life support is disconnected the breathing again stops. When I ask people why they go to church I get many different answers but rarely do I get a Biblical one. How about you? Why do you go to church? Do you go to church? If not, and you are a Christian, why not?

The saddest reason people give for going to church is to go looking for a connection with God. It is not sad  because it is a bad motivation, after all wanting a connection with God is a good motivation, but it is sad because everyday should be lived in connection with God.  It is also sad because the state of most churches is so dire that they no longer know how to help people live life of communion with God out side of their four walls but instead they foster an attitude of come here and know God is near.  The old adage “feed a man a fish, feed him for the day, teach him to fish, feed him for a life time” is true, but most churches are feeding men not teaching them to fish. Another concern is that if most people are not worshipping God during the week, can what they experience on Sunday really be worship or just something generated by the atmosphere of the service?

• Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote, Isaiah 29:13 (NASB95)

Most people going to church are in the same boat, they are looking for something more and even most pastors seem clueless as to how to help. When I ask most pastors why they go to church, apart from it being their place of work, I get the same answers from them as I do from their parishioners. Churches are big on bible studies, VBS, skits, programs, praise bands, short pithy sermons, but most of these just reinforce the fact to all who attend that there is a God and they really don’t know Him. But these things do not, on their own, answer the question “How can Christians grow up and walk daily in the presence of their God?” Understand that none of the things I mention that churches do are wrong in and of themselves but they are not geared specifically to answer this crucial question unless those in charge focus them to do so. When most leaders don’t know the answer, how can their sermons speak to the issue?
I also used to struggle with my intimacy with God. I studied the Bible, went to church, sang, and taught but still it all seemed to be just “going through the motions.” I knew the rest of my week would be spent with a realization that God was still a mystery and distant. My relationship with God was shallow at best, certainly not what I knew was possible from a relationship with the God of the Universe, the Creator of all things. I did not see Paul’s words to the Corinthians coming true in my life.

• Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21

How about you? Are you a Christian looking for a deeper relationship with God? Do you desire to know His will for your life as surely as you know your favorite flavor of ice cream? Do you desire a relationship with God that can carry you through the toughest of situations with a peace that passes understanding? If you do, begin by reading 1 John chapters 1&2 and go to God and tell Him of your struggles. Then catch our next blog entry.
Yours in Christ, Jeff