Tag: people

It’s Just Me…

Jennifred Jones

‘I keep having thoughts that I should go talk to so and so, that I should go help so and so, that I should write an article, book, speak to this person, apply for this job, start this business, but that’s just me and I don’t want to be proud and do what I think, after all, it’s not about me.’ ‘My church doesn’t believe God talks to people anymore so I know it’s not Him…so I guess I’ll just ignore all these thoughts and go about my own way.’

‘Is this right?’

Well, God does use all the ‘ME’s’ out there. He has chosen to use people to speak through, work through, pray through, love through, care though. He doesn’t personally come down and wipe away tears, or sit in the living room and visit with us. He uses us…people. I haven’t heard God speak audibly to me, but now that God lives in my heart, I can hear Him through His word. I may be in a situation and need some wisdom or help, and I say a quick prayer to God, “Help, Lord, I need your wisdom.” And sure enough a verse of scripture many times pops into my mind, or I’ll remember something the pastor said in a message that is the answer to my prayer and everything ends up ok. John 14:26 says the Holy Spirit will bring to our remembrance that which He has spoken to us, so that is what is happening in my life here.   Or, I’ll have the thought to stop by and see someone and it turns out they were in need of something that I could provide; sometimes it was just lending an ear, or walking to their mailbox for them, putting away their groceries or taking out the trash.

If we aren’t careful, we can be so concerned that ‘it’s just us’ that we miss many opportunities to do good to others, because we were afraid of stepping out on a ‘hunch’ we had… that could have been a real blessing to another person.

And I have found when the other person is blessed, so am I. The joy and happiness from helping another human being seems to take away my troubles and I feel light and refreshed inside!

Go out and do good to somebody today!

Trials

Jennifred Jones

God allows trials to bring us closer to Him. It’s so easy to ‘forget’ God in the daily events of our busy lives.

Today is 9/11/14, the anniversary of a horrible event 13 years ago; yet America rallied together in a way not seen in years. Flags were flying everywhere, not just on public flagpoles, but people’s homes, people’s cars, motorcycles, clothing… People began to talk openly about God and church again. Prayer was needed and done—not pushed aside as incorrect behavior. We took that awful event and began to pull together with God’s help to be a better, whole nation again.

Our trials show us we cannot make it on our own. We need our great big wonderful God. He is a gentleman and will not force himself upon us, but allows things to happen until we figure it out that we really do need Him and then He says, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble and I will be found”, Psalm 50:15.

Time after time, Israel in the Old Testament left God to go other ways and got themselves into all kinds of trouble…and God allowed it… not to destroy them but to help them realize that He was the way.  And all they had to do was follow Him and everything would be OK. So after things got unbearable, they would turn back to God in total regret for what they’d done and God would instantly hear, forgive, restore and bless them again.

He was willing and watching and waiting for them to come. This cycle was repeated over and over.

And this pattern is happening today with God’s people! We, all of God’s people, who are children of Abraham because of our faith in Jesus, have to guard against leaving God when the trials come. God said He wouldn’t always deliver us from trials, but He would bring us through them. And He said all of Abraham’s blessings would come upon us if we follow Him. Deuteronomy 28:1, 2

He is the one who gives the promises to us, ‘Return to Me that I may return to you!’ Zechariah 1:3

God looks to bless His people. He is not out to do His people harm. John 3:16, 17 says God didn’t send Jesus into this world to condemn us, but that through Him we might be saved from what we’ll do to ourselves if we don’t follow Him.

God is for us!

Be for Him!

Mass Production

Jennifred Jones

Today, looking at all the products in Target, I was thinking how quickly an item can be duplicated and produced once the pattern is made. Many, many, many of the same items can be turned out in a short amount of time with little effort.  So much of our world applies the mass production to its wooden spoons, its canned goods, its cars, its clothing, food, even our work and our jobs.

The purpose behind this is more goods produced in less time, fewer facilities needed to make the product, even less materials can be used once the process gets down to a science, and last but not least, fewer people are needed to make these goods. All this can make a person feel like a mere cog in the wheel, just part of the cycle of production, not important, perhaps even replaceable and unneeded. This can really begin to eat at you if you let it.

The good news is God, the creator of everything, did not mass produce anything! He made, created, a lot out of nothing, but none of it is mass produced. You can rest assured you are not a cog in the wheel to God. You were not mass produced, turned off an assembly line… maybe up to spec and maybe not. No, God made you and said, “It is good!” Each of us has His stamp on us. We are all unique, each has certain traits, characteristics, talents, and skills; although perhaps similar to another’s they are different and God wants to use them in a different way. Don’t despise your differences when you try to compare yourself with others. Know that God made you just the way He intended. Now all we have to do is grow and develop and allow Him to bring to maturity what He started.

He who began a good work in you will finish it!