Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “The fear of not having enough”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Then He commanded the crowds to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them. He broke the loaves and gave them to His disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. Everyone ate and was filled. Then they picked up 12 baskets full of leftover pieces!” Matthew 14:19-20 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “There is a pattern of thinking and acting that God will bless.”

 

Yesterday we began considering the story of the Loaves and the Fish as it appears in all four Gospels. In that story Jesus miraculously fed 5000 men, plus the women and children who were with them – maybe as many as twenty thousand people.

 

To set-up the lesson He wanted to teach, Jesus began by asking His disciple Philip to consider how the problem of feeding all those people could potentially be solved. Philip quickly concluded (correctly) that it was impossible (by human standards). Jesus then went on to perform a miracle. He multiplied the little bit of food that was available and miraculously turned it into a great feast that fed thousands of people. The lesson is that God is not limited by what is possible in the physical realm. That includes in terms of material provisions and even finances.

 

In his book “The God Guarantee: Finding Freedom from the Fear of Not Having Enough”, Jack Alexander notes that Philip was standing right next to the Son of God but he was still thinking according to the rules of human economics. Even though by that time Philip had already come to know Jesus as the Messiah, and even though Philip had witnessed and experienced multiple miracles by Jesus, he still viewed his current situation in terms of what he could do, not in terms of what God could do (proving once again that doubts can crowd out memories).

 

In this lesson Jack sees a pattern that God honors, and which we can copy, when dealing with seemingly impossible situations in our lives. It’s a way of thinking and acting that demonstrates our faith in God and in what He can do. First we have to offer God what is already available. In this case it was the five loaves and the two fish. (In your life it will be something different, but you do have to be part of solving your own problem.) Second we need to bless it or consecrate it to Him. Jesus prayed over the bread and fish, consecrating it to God. Third we need to let the Lord reorder or rearrange things. In this scene the bread was broken into many pieces before it was miraculously multiplied. And fourth we need to be prepared to share and distribute the results of God’s provision. If our thoughts are to keep it all for ourselves rather than using it to bless others, we’re probably not in synch with God’s thinking about the situation.

 

The practical application here is that when you’re faced with a seemingly impossible situation that clearly will fail without God’s intervention, don’t let your doubts about it crowd out your memories of all the ways God has protected you and provided for you in the past. Then resolve that you are ready to be a part of your own solution in the current situation. Be prepared to work with God, doing your part and offering whatever you have to bring to bear on the situation. Pray about it, and then be ready to use your blessing from God to be a blessing to others. Be ready to pay it forward. This is a pattern of thinking and acting that God honors and blesses.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

 

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “The fear of not having enough”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “… when Jesus looked up and noticed a huge crowd coming toward Him, He asked Philip, ‘Where will we buy bread so these people can eat?’ He asked this to test him, for He knew what He was going to do. Philip answered, ‘Two hundred denarii worth of bread wouldn’t be enough for each of them to have a little.” John 6:5-7 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “God has all the resources He needs to achieve what He wants.”

 

Are you familiar with the story of “The Fish and the Loaves”? It appears in all four Gospels. In this scene a huge crowd has gathered to listen to Jesus. As the day wore on the massive crowd grew hungry. But since they were in a remote region, there were no provisions available. The nearest McDonald’s was many miles away.

 

To test the depth of faith and understanding his disciples had of Him at that point, and to teach them a valuable lesson, Jesus asked Philip where they were going to get enough food to feed all these hungry people. As we see in John 6:5-7, Philip essentially said that it was impossible, they couldn’t do it.

 

As the story unfolds, Andrew, another of the disciples, brings to Jesus a young boy who happened to have five small loaves of bread and two fish. That’s all the food the disciples were able to round up in that big crowd. Undaunted, Jesus blesses the food and then miraculously turns it into a feast that fed twenty thousand, with baskets full of leftovers.

 

The moral of the story? Jesus isn’t restricted by physical limitations. Jesus can take a little and turn it into a lot. Jesus can take nothing and turn it into everything. Jesus can provide breakfast, lunch, and supper, along with a midnight snack, and then He can pay your rent for you too. Jesus is really cool and He can do anything.

 

When Philip answered Jesus’ question he was thinking in terms of the economy of the world, not the economy of God. Philip was thinking about what men could do, not what God could do. But Jesus wanted His followers to begin thinking in terms of God’s rules of economics rather than in man’s rules of economics. Had the outcome depended on what Philip and his buddies could do, everyone would have gone home hungry. But with God, all things are possible.

 

This is a lesson we need to learn too. We tend to look at our physical circumstances (especially our financial circumstances), in terms of what’s possible and achievable in the physical realm. But God doesn’t operate based upon what’s possible in the physical realm. God’s kingdom operates based upon what’s possible in His power and with His resources. That’s a game-changer. With God nothing is impossible. Everything is achievable.

 

That doesn’t mean that God will suddenly shower you with piles of money for your own use and personal enjoyment. But it does mean that God has all the resources He needs in order to achieve any outcome He desires. And if you and I are in the center of His will, doing the things that He wants us to do, He is fully able to provide the things needed in order to accomplish what He has ordained.

 

God’s economy is different from man’s economy. God has all the resources He needs to accomplish whatever He wants done. We will spend the rest of the month exploring this great truth and learning how it plays out in the daily lives of God’s people.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “The fear of not having enough”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “The one who loves money will never have enough money to make him happy. It is the same for the one who loves to get many things. This also is for nothing.” Ecclesiastes 5:10 (NLV)

 

Our thought for today: “Our focus is wrong.”

 

In the days to come we will begin to consider God’s answer to our fear of not having enough. But before we move on to that, I want to be sure we’ve truly understood and acknowledged the problem we’re faced with.

 

A big problem for Christians is that we often claim things to be true of ourselves which are not really true. This issue of who or what we truly put our trust in is a case in point. Most of us say that God is our Provider and that we trust Him to take care of us. We say that, but we don’t really believe it. Or at least, we don’t live as if we really believe it. We say we trust in God for our daily bread, but then we allow ourselves to be a workaholic as we strive to earn as much as we can. We say we trust in God for our financial future, but then we obsess about savings accounts and retirement plans and how we’re going to afford the latest gidget or gadget, a new car and a bigger house. We say we trust in God, but our focus is usually on jobs and incomes and savings accounts and possessions.

 

Now don’t get me wrong, working hard, earning as much as we can, building up savings, and having a plan for retirement are all good things – we should do them. But we are not to trust in them. And therein lies the problem for most of us. Truth-be-told, in actual practice, we do trust in them more than we trust in God. We just don’t admit it.

 

So let’s set aside the God-talk, the religious clichés, and the false piety and admit how much of a hold money and possessions really do have on our hearts. It’s only when we honestly admit a problem that we can then begin to deal with it.

 

King Solomon was honest about it. He was the richest man in the world in his day. For most of his adult life he indulged himself in every conceivable pleasure and denied himself no creature comfort. But he finally came to the point of realizing how empty such a life was and how misplaced his focus had been. That’s what we’re reading not just in Ecclesiastes 5:10, but in the entire book of Ecclesiastes. Solomon learned that it didn’t matter how much he had because it was never enough. Deep inside there was always the nagging concern that regardless of what he already had, he still needed something more.

 

The fear of not having enough, and the doubts and anxiety that come with it, can be suffocating. It leaves us feeling dissatisfied, unhappy, and worried about the future. Worse, at a very deep level, it takes our focus off of God and onto the things of this world.

 

Despite what we claim to be true about our faith and about our focus if we’re honest we have to admit that our concern for the things of this life, and our obsessive focus on them, is a big problem that has to be dealt with.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “The fear of not having enough”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Watch out and be on guard against all greed because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.” Luke 12:15 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “There has to be more to life than this.”

 

Yesterday I told you about a 2015 survey of millionaires which produced the surprising revelation that a very large percentage of rich people are insecure about their financial future. In the survey a majority strongly believed they needed to have twice as much as they already have in order to feel secure. That was true of those millionaires and it tends to be true for most for us, regardless of our income level.

 

In his book, “The God Guarantee: Finding Freedom from the Fear of Not Having Enough”, Jack Alexander writes, “America is filled with comfortably prosperous people who mostly feel they don’t have enough. They are dominated and controlled by a pervasive sense of resource scarcity and precariousness.” He then goes on to say that fear in itself is fundamentally selfish – it is a preoccupation with the self. The fear of not having enough is a selfish preoccupation with not just our own provision, but with our own comfort and not even just that, but with our own continued high level of comfort.

 

We all know this is true. As was noted yesterday, we live in the most affluent society in the world. But we also have the largest proportion of people on anti-depressant medications than any nation in the world. Beyond that, we also have one of the highest levels of personal indebtedness per capita, and the resulting financial strains that come with being deeply in debt. And, we have one of the highest suicide rates in the developed world.

 

How could that be? How could so many have so much and still be so unhappy – and so fearful of not having enough? Evidently there must be more to life than just having a lot of stuff.

 

Jesus spoke about that in Luke 12:15. He taught that there is more to life than just money and possessions. In fact, not only are money and possessions not the most important thing in life, often they get in the way of true happiness.

 

Let me be clear that money and possessions are not bad. I would rather have money and possessions than not have money and possessions. But how we think about such things, and the place they are allowed to occupy in our heart, is crucial to our overall sense of joy and contentment, and to the real quality of our lives.

 

In his book Jack does not debunk the value or importance of money or possessions. He himself is a multi-millionaire. Although he grew up in impoverished circumstances, he went on to become a successful businessman, investor, corporate CEO, and financial advisor. But Jack is one of those special people who learned how to hold it all lightly and to use it well for the glory of God and for the benefit of the Kingdom. In the process, he discovered some wonderful promises from God regarding His provision for His people.

 

You may be surprised by some of what we learn this month.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “The fear of not having enough”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the idolaters eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.” Matthew 6:31-33 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Stop living in fear of not having enough.”

 

Some years ago a middle-aged woman came to me for counseling. Her family was struggling in many ways, but especially financially, and she was therefore worried about their financial security and the future. I found their situation slightly inexplicable because for one thing, we live in one of the lowest cost-of-living regions in the nation. But for another thing, her family income was more than $100,000 and therefore they should have been doing just fine. But I’ll never forget her comment to me about that. She said, “$100,000 doesn’t go as far as you might think it would.” So she was worried about finances.

 

In another case I received a phone call from a fifty-something woman who lives in another part of the country. I had known her and her husband for decades. She too was having family problems and again one of their biggest issues revolved around finances. In their case both husband and wife were accomplished professionals with six figure incomes. Their $450,000 home was paid for. Their savings and investments approached $1,000,000, and both of them had assured retirement income that would combine to provide them with a six figure income in retirement. But still, the husband was deeply concerned that they did not have enough savings, investments, and retirement income to really be secure and he was obsessing about it to the point of anxiety and marital strife.

 

I’ve always found it amazing that although we live in the most affluent nation in the world, the fear of not having enough is pervasive in our society and spans the spectrum of income brackets. Because it is such a big problem, I’ve done a lot of preaching, teaching, and writing about this over the years. In one recent survey of millionaires, seventy-eight percent of those with $1,000,000 or more in assets admitted that they still worried about their financial future and thought they needed to have at least twice as much as they do have in order to feel secure.

 

God recently brought to my attention a wonderful little book on this subject and I have decided to share some of its lessons with you. The book is “The God Guarantee: Finding Freedom from the Fear of Not Having Enough” by Jack Alexander. The book is insightful and very helpful and I highly recommend it to you.

 

Throughout the month I will draw on some of the lessons and themes Jack brings out in his book, combined with my own insights and experiences, and together we will learn more about this fear of not having enough and how to stop it.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Boundaries”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Everything is permissible, but not everything is helpful. Everything is permissible, but not everything builds up.” 1 Corinthians 10:23 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “We cause most of our own problems by making bad choices.”

 

As we conclude our devotional study on the subject of “boundaries”, I want to reemphasize the importance of personal responsibility. You and only you are responsible for your boundaries (or for the lack of them). Additionally, if your boundaries have been breached it is almost certainly your own fault. You either created the situation yourself, or you allowed it to exist. Either way it’s your responsibility, so don’t blame it on others.

 

In 1 Corinthians 10:23 Paul was teaching an important lesson about Christian liberty. He was making the point that in Christ we have great freedom to make choices about the context and content of our lives. But in order to make good choices we have to be spiritually mature and our choices have to be Spirit-led. This is such an important lesson that he taught it twice in the same letter, once in 1 Corinthians 6:12 and again here in 10:23.

 

This “Christian Liberty” that we have, and the importance of using that liberty wisely to make good choices, applies to all of life and it certainly applies to the choices we make regarding the boundaries we establish. Life is filled with lots and lots of good things – good activities, good people, good obligations, and good ministry – good things that we could attempt to fit into our lives. But there isn’t room for everyone and for everything. Choices have to be made. Good choices. And if you don’t make those choices, if you don’t establish good boundaries, then you end up like that proverbial five pound bag crammed with ten pounds of stuff – it’s bursting at the seams and spilling over the edges.

 

There are lots and lots of possibilities – but as Paul teaches here in 1 Corinthians, not everything is helpful and not everything builds up. Sometimes more is too much.

 

As we end this month of considering the boundaries we have (or need to have), I encourage you to spend some extra time in prayer about it. Ask the Lord to help you see your life clearly and objectively. Then ask Him to help you understand what adjustments need to be made. And then finally, as was stressed in yesterday’s devotional, if changes need to be made, if people or things or activities have to go, be a mature Christian and handle it in a way that honors Christ and blesses others. Don’t be petty or small or mean in how you go about shedding things (or even people). How we handle things like this is a pretty clear indicator about how spiritually mature we really are.

 

Remember, when it comes to boundary issues, the responsibility is yours and yours alone. Make good choices. Then implement those choices in a way that honors Christ and blesses others.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Boundaries”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Each person should do as he has decided in his heart – not reluctantly or out of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:7 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Pay attention to feelings of resentment.”

 

At first glance 2 Corinthians 9:7 may seem like an odd verse of Scripture to include in our study about boundaries. In that passage Paul was teaching about giving money to help support the cause of Christ. In that context he wrote verse 7 where he cautioned his readers to give with a cheerful heart and not out of a sense of compulsion and not with any resentment. The implication is that if you are not able to give with that kind of cheerful and willing heart you should just keep your money, God doesn’t want it.

 

Although that’s excellent guidance when it comes to the subject of giving money in a way that pleases God, there’s also a larger truth here which pertains to all of life in general – and to the subject of setting good boundaries in particular. If you’re feeling resentment about something or someone, that’s a pretty good indication that something is wrong.

 

If a family member is requiring so much of your time and attention that you’re starting to resent it, that person is probably pushing the outer limits of healthy boundaries and it could be time for you to start saying “no” to them. If your job is requiring so much from you that you’re beginning to resent it and you’re starting to think that you might like to do something different for a living, there could be a boundary issue. If you’re ending most days exhausted and feeling as if there was little time to just stop and smell the roses, and you find yourself wishing your life was slower, simpler, easier, you may need to adjust some boundaries.

 

When feelings of resentment about a particular area of life begin to crowd your thoughts, it could be a red flag warning you of the need to adjust some of your critical boundaries. If you find yourself thinking “This didn’t used to bother me very much but now I’m starting to get fed up with it”, you know the boundary line has been breached and you need to make adjustments.

 

Resentment is poison pill which turns us into a bitter person who becomes small-minded and self-absorbed, often with a victim mentality. That then usually leads to irrational behavior that damages relationships and results in bad consequences for us. If your boundaries have been breached it’s almost certainly your own fault. You either caused it yourself or you allowed it to happen. Now handle it in a spiritually mature way that honors Christ.

 

As we near the end of our devotional study of boundaries I want to encourage you to give careful, prayerful thought to the boundaries you have set in your life. Are there any that need to be adjusted? Are there some that don’t currently exist but need to be put in place?

 

Healthy boundaries are needed in every area of life. Make the adjustments that are needed but be a big boy or a big girl about it. Don’t allow resentment to make you petty and small.

 

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Boundaries”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Fear is a self-imposed boundary.”

 

Hundreds of times in both the Old and New Testaments the people of God are told to “fear not”, or to not give in to fear. If God repeats an instruction hundreds of times there must be something to it.

 

To describe fear the dictionary uses words like “anxiety”, “apprehension”, “disquiet”, and “agitation”. It is an impending sense of something bad that may happen. That sense of anxiety and apprehension can be crippling. Fear will often cause us to delay actions we need to take or to put off decisions which need to make. It can also render us ineffective or even helpless when we need to be strong. God doesn’t want the lives of His people to be governed by fear and so He repeatedly teaches against it. Over and over again He reassures us that we have no reason to fear.

 

Isaiah 41:10 speaks of the Sovereignty of God. To be “Sovereign” means that He is supreme and has absolute authority over all people and over all things. That includes you and the circumstances of your life. This verse also reminds us that in addition to being Sovereign (having supreme authority over your life), He is also “Omnipresent”, meaning that He is always with you, and He is “Omnipotent” in that He is all-powerful.

 

So because God has complete authority over your life, and because He is always with you, and because He has absolute power over every issue in your life, you do not need to fear. One other attribute of God which we need to consider this morning and which applies to this subject of rejecting fear is His total, unconditional, and perfect love for you. God is the very definition of perfect love and in 1 John 4:18 we read, “There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear.” (HCSB)

 

God is love. There is no fear in love. Perfect love drives out fear. God loves you.

 

Fear is a self-imposed boundary. Fear limits and restricts us. It immobilizes us when we need to be active and it steals our joy. But God, in His perfect love for us, by means of His never-ending presence with us, and by His mighty power, gives us victory over fear.

 

“Fear not, for I am with you.” says your God.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Boundaries”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “There is always more.”

 

I was already an adult when I came to faith in Christ. When it finally dawned on me what I had been missing all those years, I remember feeling as if I had wasted years of my life. I could have spent that time learning about God and growing as a Christian. I felt that I had a lot of ground to make up.

 

Shortly after that, I came across a statement in a book which captured my imagination – it gave me great hope and propelled me on a journey of seeking God. It came from the book “Lifestyle Discipleship” by Jim Peterson:

 

“One of the greatest gifts God has given us is the infinite opportunity for spiritual growth. But however much we have matured, there is always more beyond. It is in this that we find the adventure of living. There will always be new, unexplored dimensions of His person beckoning to us. The possibilities go off the chart.”

 

The Christian life, properly lived, can be an exciting journey of spiritual growth. Every day there can be new discoveries and greater understanding. And no matter how much we have learned or how much we have grown, there will always be something more waiting for us. God is a deep ocean. His wonders, richness and beauty are infinitely more than we can comprehend or take in. And no matter how much of Him we experience, there will always be more.

 

The promise of Jeremiah 33:3 is true for you too. If you call to Him, if you seek Him, He will answer you and show you great and wondrous things you did not know. When it comes to learning new things about God there are no boundaries, there is always more.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

 

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Boundaries”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “So he (Caleb) said, ‘Isn’t he rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me twice now.” Genesis 27:36 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Stop the manipulators.”

 

Jacob was one of the patriarchs of the Old Testament. It was from him that the twelve tribes of Israel came. But the primary thing Jacob is remembered for is that he was a manipulator of people. He was cunning and devious and he was always quietly maneuvering behind the scenes to advance his own interests – usually to the detriment of those closest to him. As a result Jacob brought upon himself and his loved ones years of suffering.

 

Do you have a Jacob in your life? I’m talking about someone who has a habit of being deceptive; someone who is always scheming; someone who always seems to have a slightly unbelievable story and who can’t really be trusted. Often such people are close family members who we love and who we want to help, but who over time have lost our trust and burned all their bridges. With such people we have to have firm boundaries to protect ourselves from their manipulations. We have to be tough.

 

In their book “Boundaries” John Townsend and Henry Cloud label such people as “Controllers”. They are determined to gain control over the people around them in order to get what they want. Controllers come in two basic varieties, “Aggressive Controllers” and “Manipulative Controllers”. Aggressive controllers don’t even make a pretense of respecting your boundaries. They’re often verbally and sometimes physically abusive. They try to get what they want from you by means of fear and intimidation. The boundaries needed with them are often physical and legal. We’re talking about locked doors, restraining orders, and perhaps jail time.

 

Manipulative controllers are much more subtle. They often have friendly and engaging personalities, and they usually try to give the impression that they care deeply about you and fully respect the boundaries you have established. But all the while they’re working their way around your boundaries, often coming in through the back door of your heart. In the end they walk away with the keys to your car, or a check for this month’s rent, or whatever else they were seeking. The boundaries needed to deal with the manipulative controller usually consist of a firm “no” and then sticking to it.

 

Jacob never really learned his lesson. There were times in his life when he was a little better than at other times, but right to the end he gives the impression of being self-absorbed, selfish, whiny, and putting himself before others.

 

If you have a Jacob in your life you may find that the only thing you can do is to establish firm boundaries to protect yourself from them. You will just have to be tough with them and then stick to it.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim