James 1:13-16 “When people are tempted, they should not say, “God is tempting me.” Evil cannot tempt God, and God himself does not tempt anyone. 14 But people are tempted when their own evil desire leads them away and traps them. 15 This desire leads to sin, and then the sin grows and brings death. 16 My dear brothers and sisters, do not be fooled about this.” NCV

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SELF-DESTRUCT?

SELF-DESTRUCT – “A mechanism for causing a device to destroy itself. To destroy oneself or itself.”

That’s plain and simple, isn’t it?

We don’t just wake up in the morning and say to ourselves, “Hey, I’m going to make choices today that are going to cause me more problems than I already have.” In fact, our intentions can be “good” and we can still cause ourselves grief.

The word of God says, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3; 23). We all fall short of perfection.

Galatians 5;19-21 shows us what comes natural to us and it is far from perfect.

“ The wrong things the sinful self does are clear: being sexually unfaithful, not being pure, taking part in sexual sins, 20 worshiping gods, doing witchcraft, hating, making trouble, being jealous, being angry, being selfish, making people angry with each other, causing divisions among people, 21 feeling envy, being drunk, having wild and wasteful parties, and doing other things like these. I warn you now as I warned you before: Those who do these things will not inherit God’s kingdom.” NCV

We are going to be enticed and the works of the flesh or our “sinful selves” are going to make a decision. “Just Saying No,” doesn’t solve the problem.

HOW DO WE RESIST THIS ENTICING OR THIS LEADING AWAY THAT LEAVES ALL GOOD INTENTIONS BEHIND AND CAUSES US TO SELF-DESTRUCT?

Galatians 5:16-18 says, “So I tell you: Live by following the Spirit. Then you will not do what your sinful selves want. 17 Our sinful selves want what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit wants what is against our sinful selves. The two are against each other, so you cannot do just what you please. 18 But if the Spirit is leading you, you are not under the law.” NCV

WE MUST LIVE A LIFE THAT IS LED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT!

HAVE YOU EVER CARED SO MUCH FOR SOMEONE THAT YOU DIDN’T WANT TO LET THEM DOWN? MAYBE YOU LOVED OR RESPECTED SOMEONE SO MUCH THAT YOU WOULD RATHER BE HURT THAN TO SEE THEM SUFFER IF YOU COULD PREVENT IT?

As we learn who Jesus Christ is and we begin to understand what He has done for us – we can live our lives in such a way that it’s not willpower that’s keeping us from self destructing – it’s the love we have for God. We don’t want to disappoint Him in any way…..our lives are now rooted and grounded in Him!

WE LOVE HIM TO MUCH TO GIVE IN TO THE TEMPTATION – WE WANT TO PLEASE HIM!

Galatians 5:24-25 “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their own sinful selves. They have given up their old selfish feelings and the evil things they wanted to do. 25 We get our new life from the Spirit, so we should follow the Spirit.” NCV

IN ORDER TO HAVE THAT KIND OF LOVE – WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND HIS LOVE FOR US.

1 John 4:9-10 “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” NIV

Col 1:21-23” Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel.“ NIV

GOD IS NOT WAITING FOR YOU TO SELF DESTRUCT – HE IS NOT SETTING YOU UP TO FAIL – HE HAS MADE A WAY OF ESCAPE FROM TEMPTATION IN YOUR LIFE AND THAT IS HAVING A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM!

We have a choice to make. We have an opportunity to understand what life is all about and to receive eternal life through Jesus Christ.

AS WE RECEIVE GOD’S LOVE INTO OUR LIVES AND CHOOSE TO BE LED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, HIS CHARACTER WILL BE EVIDENT IN OUR LIVES.

Gal 5:22-23” But the Spirit produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. There is no law that says these things are wrong.” NCV

WHAT WAS ONCE A NATURAL ABILITY TO SELF-DESTRUCT TURNS INTO A SUPERNATURAL ABILITY TO OVERCOME AND EXPERIENCE ABUNDANT LIFE.

Rom 8:12-13 “So, my brothers and sisters, we must not be ruled by our sinful selves or live the way our sinful selves want. 13 If you use your lives to do the wrong things your sinful selves want, you will die spiritually. But if you use the Spirit’s help to stop doing the wrong things you do with your body, you will have true life.” NCV

OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM BEGINS WITH ASKING FOR FORGIVENESS.

1 John 1:9-10 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.” NIV

LET’S CONTINUE GROWING STRONG IN THE LOVE OF GOD, PERSERVERING IN FAITH THROUGH EVERY TEMPTATION THAT COMES OUR WAY.

James 1:12 “When people are tempted and still continue strong, they should be happy. After they have proved their faith, God will reward them with life forever. God promised this to all those who love him.”(emphasis mine) NCV

I am so glad that the Holy Spirit is our guide and is a type of divine umpire of our lives. He leads us into all truth.

John 14;26 “But the Helper will teach you everything and will cause you to remember all that I told you.  This Helper is the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name.”

Without The Holy Spirit, our decisions in life would be rooted in self.  We know that it’s the love of God operating in our lives when what we do is not self-motivated but love-motivated. 

We need to look at our lives daily and examine, “Is this decision one that would please God or would it grieve The Holy Spirit?”

Another question we might ask ourselves, “ How will this decision affect others, will it show the love of God operating in my life?”

Furthermore, we can ask, “Is this going to offend someone or promote peace?”

I know that we don’t want to be what is commonly called a “people pleaser”, but if we are to please God we must “honor others over ourselves,”(Phil 2;3).

That means that the decisions we make as Christians need to be thought of in light of how it will affect others and not necessarily be as concerned about pleasing ourselves.

Whether we like to talk about it or not, our decisions affect others!

As Gods’ children, we have a responsibility to be accountable to others.

In 1 Corth 10;23-33, Paul is discussing how to walk in our  Christian freedom. Verses 31-33 are important, “The answer is, if you eat or drink, or if you do anything, do it all for the glory of God. Never do anything that might hurt others-Jews, Greeks, or God’s Church.-Just as I, also, try to please everybody in every way. I am not trying to do what is good for me but what is good for most people so they can be saved.” NCV

It’s so easy for us to base our daily life choice on what we want and live in a self-seeking manner.  The Word of God gives us some instruction on that in Romans 8;5-6 “Those who live following their sinful selves think only about things that their sinful selves want.  But those who live following the Spirit are thinking about the things the Spirit wants them to do. If people’s thinking is controlled by the sinful self, there is death.  But if their thinking is controlled by the Spirit, there is life and peace.” (NCV)

As Christians, we need to realize that it’s not about what we can and cannot do, what I can and cannot participate in.  Instead, we need to be more concerned about how our decisions please God and that our decisions show the love of God operating in our lives.  That should be our heart attitude. 

All throughout John Chapter fifteen, we see that Jesus is talking to the disciples about abiding in Him and bearing fruit.  This means, to take on and express the character of God in our lives.  He makes it plain that without Him we cannot do this (vs 5).  He also says that if we are obeying His word we will remain in His love (vs10). We then can have the fullness of joy in our lives (vs11).

We are no longer living for ourselves but our lives are lived in a way that expresses the very heart and character of God. 

Taking in one step further, look at John 15;12, “This is my command: love each other as I have loved you.” Also in John 15;16, “whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.”

This tells me that when I am loving others as Christ has loved, my prayers will be answered.  I will be living a spiritually minded life and not a worldly or self-seeking life.

Paul gives us an example of this type of love in 1 Corth 10:23-24,“We are allowed to do all things,” but not all things are good for us to do. “We are allowed to do all things,” but not all things help others grow stronger.  Do not look out only for yourselves.  Look out for the good of others.

We need to listen to the gentle loving voice of The Holy Spirit.  He will lead us and guide us in all truth.  The decisions in our lives will then be productive and we will see the love of God overflow into the lives around us.

Lead us Holy Spirit!

(Romans 8;14) “ The true children of God are those who let God’s Spirit lead them.”

We have possibly heard the scripture echoed from the book of Job 13;15 many times,  “Though He slay me, yet I will trust Him’. 

As familiar as that text reads to us, how many times have we thought about the enormous trials that Job went through as he was quoting this very statement.

Have we for a moment endured what this man of faith endured?

I am moved by Job’s statement of faith in God.  I see a man who by all means “lost it all”, and yet failed to waiver in his faith.

In Job 1;13-19 we see where he lost his possessions, his servants, his sons and daughters and later in Job 2;7, even his health was affected.

In Job 1;21-22 we see Jobs response to the loss, “ And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.”  22 In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong”. NKJV

What if we had to lose anything that would minutely compare to what Job endured?

Would we be able to stand? 

It’s critical mass when we are going through the extreme testing of this life.  I’m reminded of this statement, “Faith that hasn’t been tested, can’t be trusted.”

When faced with these times of testings, we are told to pray.

Phil 4:6-7 says, “ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus”. NKJV

 As children of the Most High God, we can bring Him our requests with thanksgiving and know that the peace of God that our mind cannot understand will be evident in our hearts and lives.  His peace will keep us through the trial.

We have another promise as His children in Romans 8:28,“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose”. NKJV

 I am glad to share today, that for the child of God there is a purpose in your trials, and nothing is wasted in the Kingdom of God, not even your pain or loss.

Be encouraged today, to hold on in the midst of whatever trial you are facing. 

The Lord blessed Job more in the end of his life than in the beginning. (Job 42;12) and God has a good ending for you!  He doesn’t play favorites but He responds to our cry of faith.

Heb 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him”.

Let’s bring our prayer request to God with thanksgiving and rest in his peace, knowing that He is working all things together for good. 

James 5:11“ Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord — that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful”. NKJV

Even though the trials we face cause us to feel that the odds of anything good coming out of them are slim, we see how merciful the Lord was to Job and can be encouraged to continue to trust him.

The Lord is faithful to change the circumstances that we cannot control when we cry out, but He is doing something far greater, in those fiery trials, He is changing us.  Transforming us to be more like Him.

Yes, we can stand, we can keep moving forward, we can trust Him!

In Luke 10;29 We see that a man asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”                          Jesus replied by sharing the story of the Good Samaritan. 

This Samaritan man, who was most likely going about his business for the day, looked over and saw a man, who was his enemy, laying on the side of the road.  He had been robbed, beaten and left for dead.  

Next, we see his response to the crisis.  Luke 10;33b says, “ when he saw him, he had compassion.”   This word compassion is more than sympathy, it means to be moved on the inside, the strong’s definition is “to have the bowels yearn”, so we are moved with compassion.  To be sympathetic would be to feel sorry for someone, but it doesn’t necessarily mean to do anything.  To be moved with compassion is to be moved by the love of God.  

 Matthew 14;14 “And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.”  Nine out of the twelve times that the word compassion is used in the New Testament, it is used in reference to Jesus or in a teaching that He gave.  This Samaritan saw the need, and was moved with compassion, Just like Jesus.   He stopped whatever he was doing and took the time to dress his enemy’s wounds, put him on his animal, took him to an inn, paid for his shelter, gave the innkeeper a charge to “take care of him”and left more money to pay for whatever was needed until he could return. 

 Think of us today. Sure, we might not literally run into someone who has been beaten, robbed and at the brink of death and have to render aid. However, how many people do we see while we are going about our day that we don’t stop and share the love of God with them? How many times have we had the divine opportunties to share the goodness of God and have kept on walking by?  What if it was there “last day”? 

I think we can learn so much from this story. As I read it one more time this morning, I realized that who I might consider to be my neighbor is not what Jesus taught at all.  I ask myself and you today, ”Who is our neighbor?”

Jesus teaches us here that our neighbors  are those that are hurting, wounded and in need, even our enemies.  How many of us would stop and take the time to help someone, much less our enemy?   This Samaritan had compassion and it didn’t matter who this man was to him.  Who is our neighbor today?  The Lord will put them in our path, let’s be faithful, watching, willing, to help those that are in need.

Let’s remember, Jesus was that Good Samaritan in our lives. Romans 5;8 says,”But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 

Matt 18:20“For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” NKJ

Jesus is the man in the Middle. You can take comfort today and know that He is right in the middle of where you are.

What state do you find yourself in today? What situations are you facing right now? Look at what the disciples were facing in this text below.

John 20:19a “Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews,”

This was the day that Christ had risen from the dead, the disciples were afraid and didn’t know what to think at this point. They were troubled and afraid; they were shut in, “for fear of the Jews”. Can you imagine what desperation they felt?

I am sure that they probably were discussing the plan…what do we do now? What if they come for us?

How many times are we faced with the “What if’s” in our lives? We can so easily start calculating and analyzing what we need to do. Coming up with any contingency plans in case plan “A” doesn’t pan out.

Fear and doubt often try to come in and attempt to paralyze us, taking our focus off of the peace speaker and onto the problem. We must trust in Him knowing that He will never leave us or forsake us

Heb 13:5 For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” 6 so we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me? “NKJV

When we accept Him as our Lord and Savior we are born again and spiritually conceived by The Holy Spirit and have the right to cry out to God as our Father.

Rom 8:15-16 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, NKJV

He is truly in our midst and we are His children and do not need to fear no matter what we may be facing. As the disciples were fearful and not know what direction to go the Word tells us that Jesus came and stood right in the midst of them, and said “Peace to You!” John 20;19b

End of Part One

God is right in the middle of your confusion, right in the middle of your perplexing problem. He wants to help you. When doubt and fear try to take up residence in your life, cry out to Jesus.

John 20:19b-21
Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you” NKJV

The scripture says, the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord! They were rejoicing!
Things change in our lives, circumstances come and challenge us. We will have to deal with real problems. Know today that God is in your midst.

Just as the seasons change in the earth, the Lord tells us in Ecclesiastes chapter three that there are times and seasons for everything in our lives. Can you imagine what it would be like if the seasons stayed the same?

Their will be new challenges to face, from losing a loved one, to dealing with an illness, maybe financial trouble. Whatever this life may bring the difference is that in our lives – Jesus is in the midst!! He wants to help you!

I have heard my Pastor say, “The difference between Christianity and everyone else is though we all go through storms in life, we as Christians have the Lord Jesus walking with us through all those storms.”

WHY DO WE ALWAYS LOOK FOR PEACE AT THE END OF A SITUATION – WHEN WE CAN TRUST HIM TO TAKE US THROUGH THE STORMS.

We can get so sidetracked and waste so much time, when the peace of God is available IN THE STORM!

HE CAN GIVE YOU PEACE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SITUATION YOU ARE FACING TODAY!

Rom. 5:1-2 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

John 14: 27 “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

The world can promise peace, the world can try and offer us many things, but nothing the world has to offer will give us peace. Only knowing God brings peace.

The peace the world has to offer is like false advertising, if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. Does this next statement sound familiar? “You can have this and more if you call in the next 15 minutes for only 19.95!” The world offers temporary fulfillment – but when the storm comes that material thing is not going to pull you through!
The peace of God is everlasting, it doesn’t end.

Is 26:3-4 You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You. 4 Trust in the LORD forever, For in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength.

John 14: 27 B – Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

That means that we shouldn’t be troubled for anything from the past or any trouble of the present or live in fear of what is to come.

Grief, fear, worry can try to grip us and get a hold on us before we know it.

Has your faith been tested? Has your world been rocking and reeling, do you feel like your midnight hour has lasted for days or weeks….Cry out to Jesus, he is right there, and he knows exactly what you are going through.

Philippians 4;6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Being anxious for nothing, means avoiding anxious care and the distracting thoughts that try and take over in the difficulties that we face in this life.

We are admonished hear to pray, be thankful, let God know your request and then the Peace of God will overtake our minds and we will feel calm through the difficulties, a calm that we cannot comprehend because it is from The Spirit of God.

Also, He promises to keep our hearts and minds, keeping us from going under, giving up and instead having a calm assurance that overrides the storm.

Let’s fix our focus on Him! Right now Jesus is praying for you! He is right in the middle of where you are in your life.

Rom 8:34-38
34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written:”For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
NKJV

May God Richly Bless You!

Aren’t you glad that sometimes God doesn’t answer our prayers like we prayed?

If He did, our lives would look a lot different than they do now. We can truly be thankful for unanswered prayer. The Lord looks after His children and in His divine providence guides our lives.

He is truly working all things out for good in our lives.
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
NKJV

We can’t see the battle that is often raging when we pray but we can be assured that He hears us.
Ps 34:17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles. NKJV

Remember, Daniel prayed and their was a battle in the heavenlies that was unseen, then 21 days later the message came from heaven.

It takes time, and their are often processes around us and tests that God brings us through personally before we see the answer to our prayers.

Let’s look at HEBREWS 6;13-18 to see why we can hope in His promises -

13 For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name, saying:14 “I will certainly bless you richly, and I will multiply your descendants into countless millions.”
15 Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.
16 When people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. 17 God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. 18 So God has given us both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can take new courage, for we can hold on to his promise with confidence.

LET’S GIVE THE PRINCIPLES OF GOD TIME ENOUGH TO WORK IN OUR LIVES. WHEN WE DO THAT, WE Will SEE THAT WE HAVE THE VICTORY IN CHRIST EVERY TIME.

Rom 8:37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
NKJV

When we keep Jesus our focus ,we can rest and abide right where we are in peace. Let’s put our confidence in God’s Word everyday.

While looking through pages of clip art for a project one day, I came across this picture of a stone. Quite pretty actually, when you see the tiny details in it’s landscape. Shades of color in layer upon layer, look at the definition in it. Maybe one side has a small indentation and if you look into it you can see even more changes in color, and I love the shine.

It also tells a story. While it is smooth now, it started out rough and jagged. You can see where there were small distress cracks where it had been banged against other rocks and objects. But still, smooth. It got that way from years and years of being in a river or stream with water constantly moving and flowing over and around it, shaping it until it is what you see today.

The Holy Spirit spoke to my heart that we must become like this stone in order to be effective for the Kingdom of God. I was reminded how David chose 5 smooth stones from the river to use in his slingshot against the Philistine giant Goliath. He chose his stones carefully, put them in a bag, and then when the time was right he plucked one out, loaded it, and hit the old giant right between the eyes. He knew the right one to get the job done.

We are like those 5 stones in David’s bag. God chooses the right one to use at the right moment. Those stones had been there since the beginning of time. I can only imagine the years of water, wear, and pressure they endured to get where they were that day for that one battle. Like those stones, it takes soaking in the God’s River, allowing his Holy Spirit to wash over you , around you, through you, and in you, to become the fine tool in His bag.

Many are saying, ” Lord, I have been through so much pain. Have I missed your direction? I am not young anymore, will you still use me? Am I too damaged now to be effective? When is my time?

The Lord would say to you: I have carefully chosen you from the beginning. See, I have smoothed you in my river of love. You are distinct in your use and appearance. You are unique for my water has washed over you in ways unique only to you. You are exactly what I want you to be. Without my river no one is prepared for ministry. Do not look at your cracks with disdain, they make you who you are. Do not look at your indentations, they are your contour. For David chose the right stone for the battle, so I have carefully chosen you. Do not think I have passed you by. You are a smooth stone in my river and a stone who is ready for my use.

Dr Chelle Miller is Founder of River Glory Ministries & Ministry Training Center in Southport NC. Visit Her Website at www.riverglory.org

We are inundated with TV ads and offers on products that will help us focus. In the United States, health professionals spend billions of dollars on research, only to label children and adults with “Attention Deficit Disorder”. ADD has become a catch all term for what is basically, an inability to maintain focus.

As I began to think about the terminology describing this disorder, I applied it to the spiritual realm. Many, if not most who claim Christ as their Savior also suffer from a form of ‘spiritual ADD’, “Attention Distraction Disorder”. When faced with a crisis, we so often lose our focus. Our attention is distracted in the midst of our pain so that we do not see Christ in the Crisis.

Everywhere I go, my heart hurts for those who are going through, not just a simple trial, but fiery trials as described in 1 Peter 4:12.

Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.” NLT

Change is inevitable. In Ecclesiastes we are told that there is a time and a season for everything under the sun. Change can produce total chaos and when we lose our focus, it can escalate to a full blown crisis. The cruel and senseless death of a spouse or child, the injustice of losing one’s career and livelihood, losing one’s home, losing one’s health, losing one’s marriage, losing the very essence of one’s identity….the blows of crisis can bowl us over and knock us to our knees until there are no tears left to cry or emotions to feel. We feel alone, betrayed, isolated, bewildered, dismayed. We cry out to God, ‘Why?” We long to make sense of what has become senseless.

It is human nature to seek a quick fix, anything to numb the pain, anything to stop the churning sick feeling of anxiety and panic, the adrenalin surge of raw fear, deep human emotions that are relative to each one of us. No situation or reaction is the same. For the Christian, the comfort is not found in a pill or a product, but in “Fixing our Focus” with a Promise from God’s Word.

When the Apostle, Peter, saw Jesus walking on the water, Peter wanted to venture onto the stormy seas to walk to Jesus. As long as Peter fixed his focus on Jesus, the author and finisher of our Faith, he was able to walk through the wind and the waves. The moment Peter’s attention was distracted by the blinding force of the wind, the bitter sting of salt water assaulting his face, and the gigantic waves threatening to capsize him, Peter began to sink into his crisis. Just as Peter began to sink, he cried out to Jesus and began to fix his focus off of the crisis and onto the Savior who provided a solution to his present dilemma.

Dear friend, realign your focus today. Fix your focus on Heb 13:5-6

“be satisfied with your present [circumstances and with what you have]; for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not,[I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down ( relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!] [Josh 1:5.] 6 So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm [I will not fear or dread or be terrified]. What can man do to me?” [Ps 27:1; 118:6.] AMP

Jesus is at the very core of your crisis. When you can only see one set of footprints in the sifting sand, know it is then that He is carrying you. We, at Covenant with Christ are committed to covenant with you in prayer. Feel free to contact us with your prayer requests. We care about you, but more importantly, God cares and will intervene. His love, rest and peace is our “Focus Factor”.

I write this an offender in prison,
a place that is called Plane State Jail,
Tin Buildings and barbed wire fences,
to me a small version of hell.

We enter this place with afflictions,
some sorrow, some depression, some hate,
We’re all here to serve a time sentence,
Upon release still not knowing our fate.

Two-thousand plus women do live here,
To serve out no more than five years,
From here some go home, while others do not,
But in common we all leave our tears.

But, two dorms here are unlike the others,
They are what we do call Faith-based,
To learn about Jesus our Savior in hopes,
The rest of our lives we don’t waste.

Strong women, God’s children,
thru adversity we’ve lived,
With tribulations and trials at our feet,
But triumphant we’ll be, over defeat and setbacks,
Tempered by adversity as steel is by heat.

Sisters, you can trust when I tell you,
yes girl, You can bet it’s real talk,
While here I’ve become a new person,
And when released, it’s with Jesus I’ll walk.

Time in itself will bring about change,
Though it might not be what we’re demanding,
“Just trust in the Lord with all of your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding”.

In my life I knew something was missing,
And found it while studying The Word,
For my heart was set free, my eyes could now see,
And my spirit is free as a bird.

My sisters, I wrote this poem for you,
cause I wanted for all you to know,
No matter your sins, your past, where you’ve been,
He’ll wash you clean white as the snow.

Ladies, just trust and do realize we are all daughter’s
Of a great King,
Just ask Jesus into your heart’s while on earth,
And in heaven great riches He’ll bring.

Toni Hanley
Ex-Offender
Plane State Jail
April 2010