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The Laws Of Provision During the summer of 1999, the training position which I held at Sequoyah Nuclear Plant was eliminated. I then began a nine month journey of faith in which the Lord left me both startled and amazed at the wonder of His care. Throughout those months, the Lord provided nearly $30,000 while I had no job. The highlight however, occurred in August. My health insurance premium came due, and the bill of $1,008 had to be paid in fifteen days. We did not have the money, and all I knew to do was pray and ask the Lord to give it to us. On the fourteenth day, I retrieved a large stack of mail from our mailbox. Inside that stack were two cards; one from a couple outside of Atlanta, and the other from a couple in Middle Tennessee. Both couples had written eerily similar notes, "We were praying for you, and the Lord spoke to our hearts to send this to you." Inside of both cards were checks written for $500. As excited as I was, I found myself like Gideon talking to an angel and still not convinced of a miracle. Then I opened the last piece of mail in that large stack. It was a refund check for an overpayment on our escrow account for exactly $8! The Lord had met our need down to the last penny.....
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Rev. Alan Stewart Copyright 2010. Used by permission. All rights reserved. |
Get Rid of Distractions.. Rev. Rick Warren that keep your ministry from being fruitful..Jesus says that distractions can keep our fruit from ripening: “The seed that falls among weeds stands for those who hear the word of God but the worries and the riches and the pleasures of life crowd in and choke them and their fruit never ripens.” (Luke 8:14, Good News) If we want to be fruitful in ministry, then we need to get rid of the weeds in our lives and make room for what’s important. What limits your spiritual growth? What chokes your relationship with Jesus? What prevents you from being effective in ministry? Think about your schedule. Your weeds are the activities that crowd out time for prayer, Bible study, family time, and a healthy balance in your life. Charles Garfield once wrote a book called Peak Performers. In it he wrote about his study of peak performers and he found that among their common characteristics was the ability to remain balanced. They kept their lives in balance between professional and personal, vocations and hobbies. Jesus says the weeds that distract us tend to fall into three categories -- First, worry distracts us – When you worry, it keeps you from being fruitful. Worry is revealed by whatever stresses you out. It could be your bills, your health, your kids – whatever you fret about on a regular basis. Worry will keep you from serving God like you should because worry keeps you from growing in faith. The Bible says, “Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you.” (Psalm 55:22) The antidote to worry is trust. Give your worries to God Second, greed distracts us - Greed can consume our lives and choke out our desire to live for God. I’ve met pastors who let their churches die because they were so busy traveling and speaking just to make more money. The Bible says we do ministry because we’re eager to serve God, not for what we can get out of it. (1 Peter 5:2) Third, ‘pleasure of life’ can distract us – We need to maintain a balance. God wants us to have times of rest, including a weekly Sabbath. But is there any chance you’re spending too much time on hobbies? Or on pet projects that have become a hobby? Even overwork can become a ‘pleasure of life’ if you’re doing it because it makes you feel good and gets you praise from others. What is your motive? Are you maintaining a balance between work and recreation? Ask your family and see what they have to say about how you spend your time. I’ve found when I neglect my quiet time, my health, and the key relationships in my life, weeds start to grow. I start to get distracted. I need to return to balance. Your ministry is too important to let yourself be distracted from the things God created you to do. God called you and he gifted you for ministry. He wants you to succeed. He will give you discernment this week as you determine what things may be distracting you from being as effective and fruitful as God intends for you to be.
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Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., one of America's largest and best-known churches. In addition, Rick is author of the New York Times bestseller The Purpose Driven Life and The Purpose Driven Church, which was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th Century. He is also founder of Pastors.com, a global Internet community for ministers. ©Copyright 2008. Used by permission. All rights reserved |
The LifeTransforming Power of God's Word Sheldon D. Newton In this particular lesson, we will examine in great lengths and depths the power and effects of feeding upon God’s Holy Word and its relation to growing and developing spiritually. You cannot, and I do emphasize, you cannot grow and mature spiritually without developing and maintaining a deep, strong, rich abiding respect and love for the written Word of God. This is so important that I would like to reemphasize it again: You will never develop spiritually without a deep and abiding respect and reverence for the written Word of God. After all, the Bible is the number one way that God communicates with man. The Written Word, the Sacred Scripture, is not a compilation of men debating various theories, speculations and opinions, attempting to explore the genius of the human mind. Far to the contrary, God’s Word is just that, God’s Word. 2 Timothy 3: 16 “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”....
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Sheldon D. Newton
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