By Jamie Tennant

We have loving, compassionate Pastors, who seek God’s face everyday for their sheep. We have a leadership team who desire for the people of God to grow in who they are in Christ. We have a worship team using their God-given gifts to usher us into His Presence every single service. We have home groups with the sole purpose of connecting the body of Christ together in more personal ways. We have servants in the house of God with a gift to make our church experience more enjoyable and easier. We have a prayer ministry team who loves the chance to pray over whatever need or situation we have in our lives. We are blessed. Immensely.

Yet, most of us have become too familiar with the people we’re doing life with to receive the full benefit of what the Father has put inside of them. One of the definitions of familiar is: unduly intimate (unduly means ‘in an improper manner’); too personal; taking liberties; presuming.

We’ve become too familiar with the person beside us or across the aisle from us. We won’t allow certain people to minister to us because we don’t think they have anything to offer us. We don’t honor them the way we should because we ‘know’ them now: their quirks, their faults, their mess ups. We’ve seen them in their good times and their ugly times. We’ve taken our intimate knowledge of them and used it improperly and we miss the gifts that God has put inside of them for us. Or, maybe we’ve only ‘heard’ things about them. We’ve taken what we’ve heard and presumed things about them.

Presume: to assume as true in the absence of proof to the contrary.

At this point we’ve put a harness on their ability to minister to us. We’ve taken liberties (unwarranted freedom in action or speech) on who we think they are, or what we think they’re capable of offering us. Everything we need for life is in God, and God uses the tribe He’s placed us in to provide for us. If we have an area in our life that seems lacking, then it’s time to take a look at the limits we’ve placed on the people in our tribe.

I am praying, personally, for fresh eyes to see the people of God that He’s placed around me. Instead of seeing Pastor Dave on stage preaching ‘just another message’, I pray for eyes to see a man of God with an impartation from God for ME and my life. Instead of seeing the prayer team at the end of service standing there ready to pray for my cold or some calamity in my life, I pray for eyes to see the people God has placed there to speak a blessing into my life. Instead of dropping my kids off with ‘the babysitters’ in the nursery, I pray for fresh eyes to see the servants God has gifted to pour Kingdom into my children.

I heard a pastor say recently that “God is going to invade the earth through breaking off familiarity.” We can even become too familiar with what God is doing in our lives. We become too intimate, in an improper manner, with the Hand of God in our lives that we don’t even recognize or give him honor for it. It’s amazing when God supernaturally provides for us financially, but when He does it 4 or 5 or 9 times, its become familiar and we don’t honor or acknowledge Him for it anymore. We’ve just made our intimacy with God improper. When we can’t point to God for what He’s doing in our lives, He can’t be glorified. If He can’t be glorified in your life then who or what is your life actually pointing to?

We break off familiarity by acknowledging what God is doing in our life and pointing Him out to others.When we share what He’s doing in our lives others begin to look for Him in their lives, and then they begin to point Him out to others, and then those people begin to look for Him, and then, and then, and then…

Let’s start by repenting for allowing ourselves to make God’s goodness ordinary in our lives. Let’s pray for fresh eyes to see Him all around us. Let’s brag on Him every chance we get and watch Him show up time and time again, like a domino effect. Let’s begin to gather together with a fresh outlook. Let’s pray for God to allow us to see people the way He sees them. Let’s look for ways to honor our leaders, our fellow believers and increase honor, which will increase faith to expect great things! Father! Give us fresh eyes to see what You want us to see! AMEN!

• Date - May 14, 2018
• Author - The Rock Parkersburg

By Charlie Rowan

We must always remember Jesus died to judge us to the Father’s heart.
(Matthew 6: 23 and Matthew 5:39-48)

As part of a mentoring program I am in, I recently I read a book that I could not stand until I got to page 100 or so. There were things in the beginning that were way off the mark. The author and I disagreed, to say the least. These points of contention for me would not send a person to hell, but would keep you bound and not allow you to walk in certain places of freedom.

However, I submitted to the program and after getting past places of strong disagreement I found places of great beauty that convicted me. I repented and I will be changed by it.

See, God began to speak to me through this process and used this book as an example. How many times do we meet someone and because we have strong places of disagreement, we just cut them off or dismiss them from our lives? What if we need to press further for a place of agreement in order to learn from one another? What if WE are supposed to be the person who brings truth to the areas where they are in darkness? What if we are their freedom fighter?

I believe this is a beautiful message. Am I looking for places of disagreement in people so that I can use that as an excuse to exclude them from my life? An excuse to not have to let them in, because of my past pain, perhaps? Have I become so selective, that hardly anyone can get close to me? Especially someone that I find a fault in. In doing this, it denies me the ability to see the beauty in them and them the ability to see the beauty in me! What if we each have what the other needs to be free? Then I began to think – am I looking for a place to exit relationships or a place to merge? By being in relationships ONLY with those who are like me, or don’t rattle me, could miss out on blessings from the Lord that will only come through certain people.

What is my point?

We must always be mindful of how we are looking at people or the motive of how we judge. Are we looking at people through a microscope or with a panoramic view? Don’t get me wrong sometimes we must use microscopes, but not all the time. If we used a microscope for everything we probably would never leave the house and we for sure would not ever eat out. LOL

My point is we would live a very restricted life. It would allow us to be offended so easily and cause separation. But, if we were searching for a place of beauty, a place of agreement, that we could start a relationship from to build upon, I believe we would experience a lot more beauty, kindness and general well-being!

Now let’s bring scripture into this. Who is the devil? The accuser of the brethren, the condemner. Revelation 12: 9 – 11. Who is Christ? The Redeemer – the One who buys back. The definition goes on to include:- to free us from what distresses or alarms, to free from captivity, to extricate from or help us to overcome something detrimental, to release from blame or debt, to free from the consequences of sin. To change for the better.

Romans 5: 6-11 Jesus would die while we were nothing but ugly and searching. He was willing to die, to lay down an “on ramp” as a place for us to merge with Him. Jesus had no problem seeing ugly, however, He chose to see only His Father’s original design for us and was willing to die to bring it to life.

Romans 8:1. A lot of times we will let certain ugly people in our life, because we know that they will disappoint us, and it will be easy to let them go, therefore, it won’t hurt us. (we don’t really expect much else) But, it is often more difficult when there is someone we see potential in. If we let someone (that we deem “good”) in and they disappoint us, now that would hurt, and our love would have to be a lot bigger than it currently is. This would also expose a place in us that we might not want to see.

John 13 :34 -35, Ephesians 5:25. How can our love change the world if our homes and marriages don’t look much different than the world’s? There is no doubt that there are different kinds of love, but let us focus on only one: the love that will die to find a way to bring unity – not a love that searches to find differences that causes division.

Hebrews 4:12. God’s love is a love that creates the on ramp (at His expense) to make a place to merge, to separate anything from us that would keep us from becoming what He designed us to be.

John 10:10. Satan’s way is to find a weakness, that he can exploit for his purpose, to keep us from being what God designed us to be…to enslave us with it, shame us and condemn us.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10. God takes a weakness and makes it a place of strength and beauty and freedom.

Brothers and Sisters, I say let’s purpose to look at others and expect and hope for the good! Let’s see people and wonder what we can learn from each other. Let’s build relationships built on Christ in us, the hope of glory. Let’s be the good that people need to see. Let’s apply Philippians 4:8 to our relationships and 1 Corinthians 13 – the love chapter. Let’s bear long, and think on good things! This is Christ! This is the kingdom way!

Lord I pray that the freedom that You bought for us, the beauty that You displayed by laying down Your life, (Your perfect life for us while we were yet sinners) That even while our lives were in total opposition to You, I pray Lord that this love would be found in us and that our hearts, our minds and our vision will always look for redemption in others. May we always look for a onramp to bring others to merge onto he kingdom highway. May we never compromise Your principles and have wisdom to know who is ready to merge and who is our particular assignment. May Your kingdom come your will be done here on earth, and in our lives, as it is in heaven. In Jesus’ Name. AMEN

• Date - May 12, 2018
• Author - The Rock Parkersburg

Habakkuk 2:4 Look at the proud; his soul is not straight or right within him, but the [rigidly] just and the [uncompromisingly] righteous man shall live by his faith and in his faithfulness. [Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11.]AMP

Has your faith been compromised? Sometimes our daily struggle entices us to return to self-reliance and reason. As I was praying this morning I was thinking on faith and the attitude of faith. The emotion true faith produces is nothing less than contentment. There is a rest in faith as well as an action. I always have said “We do what we can and the Lord will do what we can’t!” Faith is employed as we trust and believe the Lord’s promises and strive to walk in His purpose and will.

A classic cliché is that “Faith is released where the will of God is known.” I really have no problem believing God, my problem is hearing His true voice and will. This is where my main pursuit is accomplished. If I can hear the voice of God and receive His directives, I cannot fail! Qualifying what we hear, I believe, is where most fail and fall short. The first clue is, “Not my will, but Your will”. Most of the time they contradict. The very essence of pure prayer is manifest in the request, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Motive is at the root of will. So much of our motive is rooted in the fallen nature which is manifest in selfish desire.

Look at the ultimate backslider who is in reality a type of anti-Christ:

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11. The Vanity of Pleasure

1 I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure”; but surely, this also was vanity. 2 I said of laughter — “Madness!”; and of mirth, “What does it accomplish?” 3 I searched in my heart how to gratify my flesh with wine, while guiding my heart with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives. 4 I made my works great, I built myself houses, and planted myself vineyards. 5 I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them.
6 I made myself water pools from which to water the growing trees of the grove. 7 I acquired male and female servants, and had servants born in my house. Yes, I had greater possessions of herds and flocks than all who were in Jerusalem before me. 8 I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the special treasures of kings and of the provinces. I acquired male and female singers, the delights of the sons of men, and musical instruments of all kinds. 9 So I became great and excelled more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. 10 Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, For my heart rejoiced in all my labor; And this was my reward from all my labor. 11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done And on the labor in which I had toiled; And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun. NKJV

Solomon became a mad man! He was the original author of the song, “I did it my way”.

1 Kings 11:7-11

Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon. 8 And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods. 9 So the LORD became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the LORD God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, 10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what the LORD had commanded. 11 Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. NKJV

Solomon actually constructed a temple to Molech – this is the demon God who demanded child sacrifice! Today, this is like when a believer votes the Democratic Party – if you vote democrat you appease Molech! They demand abortion for their promise of prosperity! Faith on the other hand says, “I’ll do what’s right and trust God for the rest!

We must never compromise our faith, what His word says, or His will in order to benefit here on earth, because let me tell you, that is the only place it will benefit. It will NOT be to your benefit when you stand before God. We live before God every day, even though most don’t think about it that way. We must stand strong and be firm. Let’s not do it our way, but always, God’s way!

Be blessed!

• Date - May 9, 2018
• Author - David Chisholm