Welcome To The Christian Journeyman!

Welcome To The Christian Journeyman!
A CHRISTIAN TEACHING AND RESOURCE MINISTRY!

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

I Need My Space

"Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force, to make Him king, he departed again to a mountain by Himself alone.“(John 6:15) After feeding the five thousand, Jesus departs to a mountain by Himself. In essence He was saying,"I need My space" Do you ever feel that way?
Do you ever feel like you are being crowded? People can zap the life out of us, if we'll let them. How many times have you wanted to pursue something for the Lord, and someone or some ones, will come and want to dictate, how you will do it, and demand that it be done, a certain way, or their way; and destroy all the creativity you have to offer. There are many times that people don't want to give other people room to breathe, let alone pursue their dreams. Jesus knew what His purpose was. He knew why He was here in this world, and the world was not going to distract Him, or to ruin the fulfillment of that purpose. He knew that He was headed to a cross, to die for the sins of man-kind. The rest that He did for man-kind, while He was here, was icing on the cake. The words "No, I need my space on this" is hard to say, because we worry about what people will think about our independence. If there is one think that is so important in relationships, and certainly in work relationships, is that everyone deserves their space. Everyone needs the space to pursue their dreams, and find their place in this world. Even with a work project, or activity, if it is a small space; it is still a space, for one to realize their talent, and potential. Too often we rob people of this. And too often, it comes back to hurt us, because not only does it hurt the person, it hinders the group from accomplishing the goals they wanted to achieve. Jesus knew the value of finding His space.
We need to find ours, and allow others who are around us, to find theirs.
(GP)

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

O How I Love Jesus!

The Church of Ephesus, seemed to be a very successful church. They were a busy, active, involved church. But something was missing. According to our Lord Jesus, they had "left their first love" (Revelation 2:4) Can it happen that you can get so busy serving the Lord, that you stop loving Him? Just like in any relationship, if you don't put effort into it, the love can grow cold. The Lord calls them to do three things, in order to restore this broken relationship. 1. They are to remember how new and vibrant the relationship was in the beginning.(v.5a) 2. They are to repent of this neglect, and change their minds, which will change their actions.(v.5b) 3. They are to repeat the basic fundemental things, that made their relationship with the Lord, what it was in the beginning. Prayer, feeding on God's Word, worship, obedience, are all vital foundational activities, that keep our realtionship with the Lord strong. (v.5c) They were to repent, and change their attitude and actions, or they would have to face the consequences. The Lord warned that He would come quickly, and remove their lampstand from it's place.(v.5d) In essence He was saying to the church which was to be a bright light in the world at that time, that they would no longer exist. The Lord would remove them.
Here's the question to sum up what the Lord requires, of us as His church. How can we be a bright light in our community, if our light for Jesus is very dim, and almost out? We should always live up to the title of the old hymn "O How I love Jesus" Let it never be, "O How I loved Jesus" GP

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

How Much Do We Weigh?

If we were to place ourselves on a spiritual scale, what would we weigh? How strong of a commitment to the Lord and His Word, would the scale reveal to us? As much as I am hesitant to step on a physical scale to view my physical weight, I would be more hesitant to view the results of my spiritual maturity.
Belshazzar the last king of Babylon in Daniel 5 was told how much he weighed, in light of his relationship with God. Belshazzar was a grandson to King Nebuchadnezzar. The event is of a great feast that he gave at the palace, during the siege of Babylon in 538 B.C. He really shook his fist at God, when he had the vessels of the temple, (which King Nebuchadnezzar had brought from Jerusalem) brought in, and used during the feast. Everyone one was in a festive mood, until Belshazzar, and all his guests, saw a hand writing something on a wall. It says that King Belshazzar became so afraid, that he became pale, and his knees began to knock, so much so, that his legs gave way. The words said this: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN. " Daniel was the only one who could interpret what those words meant. It was a statement from God to Belshazzar:
"God has numbered your days of your reign and brought it to an end. You have been weighed on the scales, and found wanting. Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.(Daniel 5:25-28)
In essence, God was saying: Belshazzar, Judgment is coming, and you have been found lacking! You thought you had it all, but in reality, you have nothing!
In God's scales, how much do we weigh? I pray that our love and devotion to God is strong and full. As we step on God's scales, I hope that He sees the fullness of His Son Jesus in our lives. Establish a relationship with Him today, and never, ever, find yourself in God's sight, empty and lacking. GP