there are lots of benefits…

you and i need to be patient because GOD rewards patience.  james 5.11a (niv), as you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered.  

notice the word, blessed.  the second half of job’s life was more blessed than the first half.  GOD doubled everything he had.  it pays to be patient.  there are all kinds of rewards.  your character grows, you get along with people better, you’re more happy, you reach your goals.  there are lots of benefits of being patient.  GOD rewards it.  you’ll be honored by others.  they’ll say, “he’s a patient person.” 

but not just on this side of eternity, but on the other side you’re going to be rewarded.  matthew 5.11-12 (niv), blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of ME.  rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

when people put you down, when they criticize you, be patient, because there’s going to be a reward in heaven. 

it is our natural tendency – one of the strongest desires in life – that when you’re hurt, you want to get even.  you want to retaliate, get revenge, take matters into your own hands.  when you get criticized, you want to criticize back.  if you get insulted, you want to insult back. 

revenge, retaliation are the natural thing – but that’s the opposite of patience.  james says that the next time someone criticizes you, before you strike back, think about this, is it worth giving up the reward i’m going to have in heaven?  i’m going to enjoy that a whole lot longer than the temporary pleasure of revenge. 

you need to be patient because GOD’s going to reward patience.

just a thought from the front porch…

four attitudes you need to be blessed...

james here in chapter one gives us some attitudes you need to be blessed by GOD’s word…

1.   be careful.  i must have a careful attitude.  james 1.19a (niv), be quick to listen... give it your full attention.

2.   be calm.  be calm if you’re going to receive GOD’s word and be blessed by it.  james 1.19b (niv), ... and slow to become angry ...  a relaxed attitude increases receptivity.

3.  be clean.  verse 21a (niv),  get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent. before you can plant the seed you need to do a little weeding.  the word filth that he says you’ve got to get rid of is actually the greek word that means “earwax”.  when you have a sin in your life it blocks your hearing.  it prevents GOD’s word from getting into your heart.  he says get rid of the evil, anything that we know that isn’t right in our lives.  GOD says, “lay aside all of the emotional garbage, the old habits, the junk in your life so that HIS' word can get through to you.”

how can we be clean?  by confession.  1 john 1.9 (niv), if we confess our sins, HE’s faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  the living bible says, get rid of all that’s wrong in your life, both inside and out.

4.  be compliant.  teachable, yielded, humble, willing to be changed.  he says verse 21b (niv), humbly accept the word of god planted in you.  don’t act like you know it all.  if you know it all, GOD’s word can’t get through to you.  pray, “GOD, do what you need to do in my life.”

just a thought from the front porch…  

we must be receptive, careful and calm to be blessed…

james, being his practical self, says i must receive GOD's word if i’m going to be blessed by it

james 1.21 niv), accept the word planted in you.  the word accept in greek is a hospitality term . which literally means “to welcome” -- come on in.  if we’re going to be blessed by the word of GOD, first we must welcome the word into our lives.  we must be receptive.

james gives an illustration.  he says it’s planted in you.  he gives the illustration of a garden and seed.  the bible, all through scripture, compares itself to seed.  jesus told the parable of the sower and said, “the word of GOD is a seed and it’s planted in our hearts.” 

how is it you can take two seeds that are exactly the same and plant them in two different locations and get two different crops in fruitfulness?  one soil is prepared and the other is not.  how is it that you can take two people and put them in the same service, with the same message, and one person gets blessed by it and the other person says he didn’t get anything out of it.  one heart was prepared and one wasn’t. james says we must receive the word of GOD with the right attitude.  he gives us some attitudes you need to be blessed by GOD’s word.  they are hearing-aides.

1.  be careful.  i must have a careful attitude.  james 1.19 (niv), be quick to listen... give it your full attention.  be alert.  don’t miss it.  ... slow to speak ...  when i’m talking, i’m not listening.  GOD gave us two ears and one mouth so we ought to listen twice as much as we talk.  many of our problems are caused because we’re quick to speak rather than being quick to listen. be careful in your attitude.  be ready.  be intent.  be ready to receive GOD’s word.  be careful. 

2.  be calm.  be calm if you’re going to receive GOD’s word and be blessed by it.  james 1.19b (niv), ... and slow to become angry ...  a relaxed attitude increases receptivity.  if you’re relaxed, people can communicate with you more.  we don’t hear much when we’re angry, upset, bitter, or resentful.  bitterness is a barrier, an emotional block that keeps us from hearing GOD’s word.  some may ask, ‘how come GOD never speaks to me?”  maybe you’ve got some resentment in your life you need to get rid of.  an article from reader's digest said when you listen it actually lowers your blood pressure. when you speak it raises your blood pressure.  james says be calm, be slow to anger.

what is your emotional state, normally, when you go to church on sunday morning?  do you go with a calm attitude?  in many homes on sunday morning it’s kind of hectic.  then we go at the last minute and expect GOD to speak to us.  what preparation? you need to be calm.  maybe you need to get up a little bit earlier. 

just a thought from the front porch…

blessed by the bible…

when the preacher’s car broke down on a country road, he walked to a nearby roadhouse to use the phone. after calling for a tow truck, he spotted his old friend, frank, drunk and shabbily dressed at the bar. “what happened to you, frank?” asked the good reverend. “you used to be rich.” frank told a sad tale of bad investments that had led to his downfall. “go home,” the preacher said. “open your bible at random, stick your finger on the page and there will be GOD’s answer.”


some time later, the preacher bumped into frank, who was wearing a gucci suit, sporting a rolex watch and had just stepped our of a mercedes. “frank.” said the preacher, “i am glad to see things really turned around for you.” “yes, preacher, and i owe it all to you,” said frank. “i opened my bible, put my finger down on the page and there was the answer -- chapter 11.” 

in america, bibles are everywhere.  you can find them in grocery stores, bookstores, motel rooms, everywhere.  they’re available in all sizes, shapes, translations, versions, leather bound, paperback.  every year the bible out sells every other major bestseller.  last year there were 500 million bibles published in the world in 18,000 different languages.  in america we are glutted with the word of GOD on the airways, radio, tv, books, magazines.  it’s everywhere.  yet millions of people still miss the blessing of the bible. 

why?  because it’s not automatic.  the bible is a book of blessing.  it promises comfort, strength, hope, wisdom, joy, power, and purpose.  but just because you have a bible doesn’t mean you’re going to get the benefit from it. 

listen, GOD’s word is HIS love letter to you, but you need to apply it to see results.  you need to apply it, to be blessed by it!

james, being his practical self, tells us how to be blessed by the bible. 

james 1.25 (niv), but whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.the bible is called the perfect law because it's exactly what i need.  it promises freedom and it promises blessing. 

just a thought from the front porch..

the secret to GOD’s blessing…

so here’s the question: who will i bless with affirmation this week?  who could you just give a word of encouragement: “you know what you’re good at?  you know what i like about you?”

here is how GOD blesses you.  HE treats you with dignity and courtesy.  HE offers you mercy.  HE expresses sympathy for your hurts.  HE is honest about your faults.  HE affirms you expectantly.  so here is the secret.  you can’t offer these to other people until first you’ve accepted them from GOD.  you can’t do these with other people until first you’ve accepted them from GOD.  why?  because your pot’s empty.  you don’t have anything to give.  so you need to accept these things from GOD.  you can’t treat people the way JESUS would unless you’ve got JESUS in you.  i’m not just talking about being a CHRISTian.  i’m talking about HE’s at the center of your life.  then you can do these things.

let’s bow our heads right now and talk to GOD about it.  pray these words:

“dear GOD, i want my words to be a blessing to other people this week.  but i realize that before i can offer these things to others i have to accept them from YOU.  so today, dear GOD, help me to see and feel my value in YOUr eyes.  thank YOU that YOU show me mercy.  thank YOU that YOU’re sympathetic to my hurts and my fears and my doubts.  thank YOU that YOU understand me and YOU bring out the bet in me.” 

if you’ve never asked JESUS CHRIST into your life add this sentence. 

“JESUS i want to get to know YOU and i ask YOU to come into my life.” 

then pray,

“FATHER, this week i ask you to give me the courage to face the truth about myself and what needs changing in my life.  then give me the courage to speak the truth in love with my family and with those around me that i care about.  help me to show courtesy and mercy and sympathy to those who cross my path this week.”  in JESUS’ name.  amen. 

just a thought from the front porch…

help and heal or hurt and harm…

we just finished looking at the lives of jacob and joseph in the book of genesis in the bible.  one of the areas we looked at was the area of blessing.  now GOD still blesses today.  HE doesn’t bless you just so you can feel good.  HE blesses you so you can help others.  HE wants to use your life. 

now one of the areas that we can bless others is with our words.  proverbs 11.11 (ncv) says this, good people bless and build up their city.  but the wicked can destroy it with their words.  you and i’ve got a choice.  we can either build up or tear down.  with our words we can develop or destroy.  we can help and heal or we can hurt and harm. 

GOD wants to use your mouth as an instrument to bless other people.  but HE doesn’t force you.  you get to choose.  proverbs 18.21 (msg)  says, words kill and words give life.  they’re either poison or fruit.  you choose. 

do you want to guess how many words there are in the english language?  eight hundred thousand.  do you want to guess how many words the average person uses in a typical day?  five thousand.  any one want to guess how many men use?  eight hundred – right.  so let’s look at some ways you can bless people with your words.

one is pretty self-evident.  it’s pretty simple to understand.  you bless others when you show courtesy.

with all the rudeness in our society and people being rude at an all time high, just being polite to people blesses others.  the bible says in titus 3.2 (Gw), believers shouldn’t curse anyone or be quarrelsome but they should be gentle and show courtesy to everyone.”  just being nice to people blesses people. 

the bible says in 1 peter 2.17 (ms), treat everyone you meet with dignity.  who are you going to meet this week?  you’re going to meet clerks, you’re going to meet waitresses, you’re going to meet bosses or employees, you’re going to meet people in your neighborhood.  all kinds of different people are going to come across your pathway.  it says treat everybody you meet with dignity.  not just those you agree with, not just those you like.  but everybody.  the bible says in romans 12.10 (gw), excel in showing respect to people [each other]. 

think of somebody right now that you could show courtesy this week.  try to write down a name.  a neighbor, a clerk, a mail carrier, somebody you get gas from or somebody that comes in your pathway.  somebody you think, “i could be a little bit nicer to that person.”

just a thought from the front porch…

what is a blessing?...

what is a blessing?  what does it mean to pass on a blessing?  if you go and read genesis 48 and 49 you’ll find out that a blessing is not just an encouragement.  a blessing is a statement of what you believe GOD can do in a person’s life.  passing on a blessing means you realize that the dream that GOD gives you, that GOD gives me, if it’s really a GOD-given dream it’s going to be bigger than your life.  GOD wants to give those kinds of dreams.  and once we’ve got them we’ve got to pass them on.  two questions:

to whom do you need to pass on GOD’s blessing in your work, your family, your ministry?  not just encouragement – blessing.  “i believe that GOD will use you in this way.”  this isn’t a lie, something you make up.  it’s something you believe.

and secondly, who do you need to honor?  joseph honored his father jacob. jacob asked to be buried back up in israel and so he was.  in fact, they took almost half the officials from egypt.  a huge procession goes just to bury his father.  even after he died he honored him.  one of the things that keep us from passing on a blessing is not honoring those that passed on the blessing to us.  who do you need to honor?  it may be someone who has died.  honor them in your heart for the blessing they passed on to you.  you’re not really a dreamer unless you pass it on. 

we all need a dream that outlasts our lives.

just a thought from the front porch…

it still is GOD’s move…

dream managers pass the dream on.  they pass it on to someone else. 

that’s what genesis 48 and 49 are all about.  in genesis 48 you see the blessing of ephraim and manasseh.  in 49 you see the blessing of the twelve sons of jacob.  have you caught on that the twelve sons of jacob are going to become the twelve tribes of israel?  every time you read about the tribes you’re just reading about a family that started back here. 

but have you ever wondered why there was no tribe by the name of joseph?  joseph got a double blessing.  his two sons would become tribes.  there is a tribe of ephraim and there is a tribe of manasseh.  that’s the reason.  they each get a blessing.  they have the dream passed on.

in genesis 48 as manasseh the oldest and ephraim were blessed they’re sitting in front of jacob to get this blessing that joseph wants them to get.  remember jacob was the younger son.  joseph was a younger son.

genesis 48.12-14 (msgg),  joseph took them from israel’s knees and bowed respectfully, his face to the ground. then joseph took the two boys, ephraim with his right hand setting him to israel’s left, and manasseh with his left hand setting him to israel’s right, and stood them before him. but israel crossed his arms and put his right hand on the head of ephraim who was the younger and his left hand on the head of manasseh, the firstborn.

so ephraim is going to get the greater blessing.  why?  because GOD knew who was to get the greater blessing.  the blessing is GOD’s not jacobs.  so HE moves israel to cross his arms and once again the younger gets the blessing.

if you feel like GOD can’t bless your life because of some circumstance of your birth, some circumstance of your life, the book of genesis says that’s not true. 

just a thought from the front porch…

where GOD does something powerful…

even though he didn’t see the dream. joseph shows us how to live the dream even when we don’t see it. 

i’ve written down some pictures for you.  ways to picture how you and i do this.  when i say live the dream, the picture in joseph's life is…

-you lead in slave’s clothing.  there will be times in your life when you feel like, “i'm not at the place of GOD’s dream.  what do i do?  give up on it?”  no.  you lead in slave’s clothing.  even if you feel like, “i’ve got greater qualifications than this!  this isn’t where i’m supposed to be.”  you still do what GOD’s made you to do. 

joseph did that in potiphar’s house.  you and i are to do that.  the new testament tells us to do that.  the bible tells us that you and i are citizens of heaven.  you don’t feel like a citizen of heaven yet sometimes.  we’re still in this world.  but still, in colossians, we’re told to act like, live like citizens of heaven because that’s who we are.  you lead in slave’s clothing.  live the dream even though you don’t see the dream.

-the second picture is you work while you’re in egypt.  he’s not in israel.  he’s not in GOD’s promised land but he’s working.  he’s in egypt.  he did not want to be there.  he didn’t deserve to be there. 

have you ever been in a place where you didn’t want to be and you didn’t deserve to be?  joseph knew all about that.  but there he was.  what was he going to do?  he was faithful.  even there, even in egypt, he made the choice to be faithful. 

we spend a lot of life in egypt, don’t we?  places we’d rather not be, doing things we’d rather not do.  if you and i are going to be all that GOD wants us to be, we have to learn to work in egypt.  when we’re in those places we’d rather not be and doing those things we’d rather not do, we need to be faithful to do GOD’s will.  that’s where GOD’s at work in our lives. 

the truth is, your real success as a believer in CHRIST, your real impact on this world, the success of your GOD given dreams depends not so much on your blessings in israel as your faithfulness in egypt.  those times you’re in a place you don’t want to be, doing something you don’t want to be doing.  but GOD has you there for a purpose. 

some of you are there right now.  your job is in egypt.  or your family is in egypt right now.  you’re in a place that you don’t want to be.  joseph teaches us that’s the place to be faithful.  that’s the place GOD builds dreams.  that’s the place where GOD does something powerful.         

just a thought from the front porch…

really see the potential in you…

when jacob wrestled with GOD, GOD brings him face to face with who he is.  then HE brings him face to face with who he can be

he gets a brand new identity.  GOD says, “your name’s jacob -- manipulator.  that’s the old you.  we’re not going to call you that anymore.  we’re going to change your name.  we’re going to call you israel which means prince with GOD.”  a little bit different than manipulator.  he says, “yes, you’ve been jacob but now you’re going to be israel.” a whole nation is named after this guy.  GOD says, “i know you’ve blown it, i know you’re conniving but i see in you a prince.  beneath all your emotional hang ups, all your insecurities, all the stuff you don’t want anybody else to know about i see a prince.” 

GOD would say that today to many of you, “beneath all of your hang ups i see a princess/prince.  beneath all the sins, all the things you’ve done wrong in life, i really see the potential in you.  you can be something great.  you can be what i made you to be.  not what you are now but what I made you to be.  if you just own up.” 

we own up to it and GOD says now we’re going to give you a new identity.  GOD, often, in the bible changed people’s names – from cephas to peter, from abram to abraham, from sarai to sarah.  that’s the old you.  GOD is in the new identity business once we own up.

he gets a new identity and then he gets blessed. 

then GOD brings him face to face with who GOD is, then HE blessed him there.  that is the key.  not who you are but who HE is.  we don’t do it HE does it. 

just a thought from the front porch…

three crisis point words…

jacob begins the road home when four significant things start to turn his life in the right direction.  

1.         he begins to follow GOD’s direction in his life. 

2.         he begins to recognize GOD’s protection. 

3.         jacob begins to recognize GOD’s blessing.  in genesis 31.42 (niv) he says to laban, if the GOD of my father, the GOD of abraham and isaac had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty handed.  it’s not his schemes anymore that are getting the credit.  for one of the first times he’s able to say, “i know if GOD hadn’t been there, the blessings wouldn’t have been there either.”  he’s starting to turn the corner.  he’s starting to head the right way in his life. 

4.         he admits his fear.  all of his life he had been afraid.  that’s why he ran from esau.  he was afraid of being killed.  that’s why he never confronted laban.  he was afraid of being rejected.  he was afraid of losing his wives, afraid of losing his flocks and his prosperity.  all of his life although he had met GOD at bethel and GOD said, “I’m going to bless your life, you can count on it”, he had run in fear.  that fear had made him into a manipulator and deceiver. 

so laban comes and confronts him and says, “why have you done this?  why have you taken the flocks?  why have you taken my children?”  chapter 31.31(nic) three crisis point words, jacob answers laban “i was afraid.”  he admits it.  this is a man, who probably never had a day go by when he wasn’t filled with fear, who admits his fear. 

those four things allow him to begin to turn the corner.

just a thought from the front porch…

prayer – your first choice, not your last resort…

prayer is usually something you do way down the line after you've tried everything else.  people will say, “has it come to that?!?!  is it so hopeless that all we can do is pray?” 

but prayer should be your first choice, not your last resort.  if you want GOD to help you to overcome the odds in any area of your life you have to turn to him first.  2 chronicles 20.1, 3 (nlt/ncv), after this the armies of the moabites and the ammonites and the meunites declared war on jehoshaphat.  he was afraid so he decided to ask the LORD what to do. 

after this.  after this there came a battle.  after what?  in the previous chapter, 2 chronicles 19 there’s the story of a great national revival, a spiritual awakening.  there’s great joy in the country, prosperity, blessing.  it's good times!  then it says, “after this there came a battle.” 

we all know this principle, that with every high there is also a low, with every mountaintop there is a valley.  and after every victory, there is always a letdown.  and with every blessing there comes a testing. 

you may be in a time of blessing right now, soaring.  you’re on the mountaintop.  but you’re going to come down eventually.  so you need to expect blessing in your life but you also need to expect battles in your life.  you’re going to have difficult times. 

notice the king’s first reaction.  it says he was fearful, he was afraid.  that's a normal reaction.  here are three enemy nations teaming up on you and they’re going to come pound on you at one time.  it’s normal to be afraid. 

the things that are overwhelming you right now, your problem is not that you’re afraid of them.  it's not your fear.  your problem is what you do with your fear.

when you’re afraid in a situation, you feel overwhelmed, stressed out, the odds against you, do you let that fear de-motivate you, destabilize you, depress you, discourage you and cause you to want to throw in the towel and say “i give up!” even before the battle starts? 

you want to say, “i can't make this work.  why put forth the effort?  why even go into battle because i’m going to lose?  i give up.  the odds are stacked.  i’m not even going to try.” 

never let an impossible situation intimidate you.  let it motivate you to pray more, to trust more.  let it motivate you to expect more from GOD and to depend more on GOD.  let it motivate you to get your priorities right, to decide what’s not important and worth doing.  let it motivate you.  turn to GOD first.

that's exactly what this guy did.  he headed straight to GOD.

just a thought from the front porch…