people never forget…

another reason why we shouldn’t judge or slander others is because it’s unloving.

james 4 verse 11 (niv), …anyone who judges…speaks against the law…  is it illegal?  is there a law against judging in the united states? 

no, then what law is it i’m breaking?  james mentioned it earlier.  he mentions it two or three times in the book.  james 2.8 (niv), if you really keep the royal law found in scripture,“love your neighbor as yourself”...  james says if you do this you’re doing what?  when i judge you i’m breaking the royal law – the law of love – love your neighbor as yourself.

we say,  “it’s just words and people will forget them.”  people never forget words.  you always remember them.  it's unCHRISTian and unloving.

just a thought from the front porch…

forget and fruitful…

the story of joseph shows us characteristics of great managers of dreams. 

-great managers choose to serve.  genesis 41.57 (niv), all the countries came to egypt to buy grain from joseph because the famine was severe in all the world. 

if you think walmart is busy during CHRISTmas time, imagine egypt, imagine all the countries and joseph was there finding ways to serve all those people.  he not only saved egypt, he not only saved israel, he saved many – all – the countries of the world. 

we look at famine today and think, “i’ve got to do something!”  joseph did do something.  he served a world that was hungry.  that’s what you do if you’re a dream manager.  you don’t kick back and think, “now everybody gets to serve me because i’ve got the dream.”  no, you choose to serve.

-dream managers remember who owns the dream.  one of the ways you see this very clearly is through the two sons of joseph.  note what he named those two sons. 

he had a son named manasseh and one named ephraim.  manasseh means “GOD has caused me to forget.”  that was the meaning of that name.  “caused me to forget the heartache that i had with my family, the heartache of coming down to egypt.  GOD has caused me to forget.”

then a son named ephraim “GOD has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”  GOD has caused me…  what you named your children then, said a lot about who you were.  i’m not sure it says a lot about who we are – we just thumb through those books.  in that day it said a lot about who they were.  it said a lot about their heart.  if you were in a depressing time, you named the child a depressing kind of name.  

here is joseph naming his sons, “GOD has caused…” to forget and to be fruitful.

the question for you and i is this, if your dream were fulfilled, whose victory would it be?  sometimes when the dream is fulfilled – ministry, marriage, family, whatever the dream is – even if we’ve prayed for it, after that dream is fulfilled a subtle change of ownership starts to happen.  instead of it being GOD’s dream, it’s my dream.  watch out for that.  don’t be a victim of victory. 

solomon, the wisest man who ever lived at the end of his life ends up being an idolater, worshipping other gods.  why?  because israel was in its golden age.  it was more successful than it had ever been.  that success caused him to relax his faith.  don’t be a victim of GOD’s victory in your life. 

just a thought from the front porch…

if you have a problem find a promise…

what have you been forgetting about GOD, how HE’s helped you so many times? 

the consequences of forgetting, the bible says is ...they would not wait.

so instead of forgetting you remember GOD’s promises. 

there are over 7000 of them in the bible.  whenever i have a problem, i find a promise.  when i face a problem, i look for a promise.  the promises are always greater than the problems you’re facing. 

psalm 103.2 (lb),  i will bless the LORD and not forget the glorious things HE does for me. 

the LORD is not being slow to carry out HIS promises but HE is being patient with you.  2 peter 3.3-8 (jb). 

you ask, why isn’t GOD fulfilling the promise in my life?  HE’s waiting on you.  you think you’re waiting on GOD?  HE’s waiting on you to learn to not fear, not fret, not faint, not forget.  HE wants you to learn that before HE brings the solution. 

HE has some things HE wants you to develop first, some growth patterns HE wants you to put into your life.  GOD’s never in a hurry.  HE can do things immediately, but HE’s working on a larger agenda.  the delays that come in your life do not destroy GOD’s purpose.  they fulfill GOD’s purpose in your life.  they make you a better person.

what is it you've been waiting on GOD to do?  for him to turn a problem around?  to answer a prayer?  to make a way in a place where it seems impossible for there to be a way, financially or physically or any other way?  maybe you’ve been waiting on GOD to bring that right person along?  maybe you’ve been waiting on GOD to turn a crisis into a solution?  GOD hasn’t forgotten.  and a delay is not a denial.  not yet is not the same thing as no. 

just a thought from the front porch…

we tend to forget…

JESUS said over 2000 years ago in luke 18.1 (jb), you need to pray continually and not lose heart. 

pray continually and lose heart are the two options you have in life.  you will always be doing one or the other.  if you pray continually you will not lose heart, you won’t be discouraged.  if you don't pray continually, you will lose heart.  you will faint.  you will get discouraged by the problems you're facing in your life – family, school, wherever.  you’ve got to keep on praying. 

what do i pray during the delay phases of life?  pray “help me hold on and not give up.”  the bible says, they that wait upon the lord, shall renew their strength.  they shall mount up with wings, as eagles.  they shall run and not be weary.  they shall walk and not faint.  they won’t give up.  they’ll keep on keeping on. 

also during the delay, time causes us to forget many things.  when there is a delay, we tend to forget our dream.  we tend to forget what GOD had done in our life.  we tend to forget GOD’s goodness to us in the past.  we tend to forget that GOD is with us.  we tend to forget GOD’s power.  we tend to forget how important it is that we stay in GOD’s strength and we start focusing on all our problems than on what he has done for us.  the bible says, don’t forget.

this was the fourth mistake that the israelites made out in the wilderness while they were headed to the promise land.  psalm 106.7-8 (tev), 13 (lb) tells us they forgot the many times GOD showed them HIS love, and they rebelled at the red sea.  but HE saved them as HE promised.  but they quickly forgot again!  they wouldn’t wait for GOD to act. 

this says many times.  it’s unbelievable how short their memory was.  in egypt, GOD does ten plagues and the children of israel forget it because a couple days later they’re at the red sea and saying “we’re all going to die!”  they’ve forgotten just what GOD’s done.  GOD does a miracle and opens the red sea.  they walk through to the other side and immediately forget that miracle.  “we’re going to die of thirst!”  GOD provides water miraculously.  they forget that and complain, “we’re going to die – no food!”  they were always forgetting. 

but we should not be too quick to judge them because we do the exact same thing.  when a delay occurs in our lives we start acting like GOD’s never done anything for us.  has GOD done things for you in the past?  sure HE has.  you can count on HIM to do it tomorrow, or the next day...  when you act like, “GOD’s not going to bail me out of this one!”  you’re forgetting all the other times HE’s bailed you out.  some of the times you didn’t even know about it but HE did. 

just a thought from the front porch…