Making Disciples

Let's jump right into today's post. We talk about the Great Commission quite frequently, but I am struck by how often I miss what is so readily apparent in the text. The Great Commission is most often used as a call to evangelism, to sharing the gospel, but it is so much more. We are not called  just to share the gospel, we are called to make disciples, to teach people to obey everything Jesus commanded. Most of us are satisfied if we are becoming disciples ourselves, but becoming disciples is not what the Great Commission asks of us. Every one of us, every church member, every believer, should be equipped not just to become a disciple but to disciple and to teach someone else. (Perhaps we could go so far as to say that a disciple who doesn’t make other disciples is no disciple at all.)

The problem we have in many churches is that we spend most of our time, effort, and money on our least effective way of making disciples. Most churches place the greatest priority on their Sunday morning service. They spend more money, devote more staff hours, and use more resources on their morning worship than anything else the church does. We have become churches of big events, consciously or subconsciously treating events with the biggest crowds as the most important.

The problem with this method is that a large gathering of Sunday worshippers is probably the least effective way to make disciples. I’m not suggesting that corporate worship is unimportant, but corporate worship is more an outflow of an effective church than the engine that drives the church toward success. While large-group times of worship may not be effective at making disciples, a church full of disciples will have meaningful and dynamic corporate times of worship (perhaps using far fewer resources).

So how do we effectively make disciples who make other disciples? Sometimes I think we make things too complicated. We think that we have to have the latest programs, materials, and DVDs from the best-known teachers and preachers, but disciple making might actually be simpler (and cheaper) than these programs. Part of the problem with these programs is that they do not lead to reproduction. They do not equip us to teach other people, they only equip us to pass along the DVD or book from which we were learning.

So what is the answer? How do we make disciples? I’m not sure where I heard this, but I have recently taken to saying that only one thing changes people, the Spirit of God using the Word of God and the people of God.

Many people say they could never teach the Bible to others. “That’s not my gift,” they say, though it seems to me we are all called to teach others, even if not in front of a large group. But when we spend time in God’s Word, not reading a few verses here or there or a verse followed by a paragraph of devotional thoughts, but digesting chunks of God’s Word, reading books over and over again, we will find that we become teachers of God’s Word. Maybe we won’t all be preparing Sunday School lessons, but God’s Word will flow out of us in a natural way. We will be ready to instruct others because we have allowed God’s Word to instruct us. If we want to be Christians who make disciples, we must first allow God’s Word to saturate us to the point that it flows out into every aspect of our lives.

But we must also remember that God uses His people to make disciples as well. Part of the reason we cannot teach others is that we will not submit ourselves to instruction. In order to disciple others, we must be willing to be held accountable by someone else. We often count on sermons to instruct us, but as I love to say, we all love sermons that step on our toes, as long as we don’t have to move our feet. True disciple making most often comes not from sermons or even from gifted teachers, but when a handful of believers gather together to tell each other the truth in love, to hold each other accountable, and to grow in the Lord together.

I think part of the problem with discipleship trends in churches today is that we have set our goal far below scriptural standards. We have made it our goal to disciple believers through our church programs, but the real goal should be to produce disciples who make disciples. We don’t equip people to go out and disciple people on their own. At most we equip them to lead a discipleship class at church, when we should be equipping them to make disciples in their homes, at their places of work, and all around the world. This kind of quipping does not come from reading a book, completing a workbook, or listening to the best teachers; this kind of equipping comes only through the Spirit of God at work through the Word of God and the people of God. When we allow God’s Spirit to work through His Word and through His people, then we will equip people to be more than just receivers, we will equip them to be reproducers: disciples who make disciples. Hope this challenges you, One Love, Jason

His Grace!

What's up everyone? I hope your week has been awesome! I'm going to jump right in this afternoon to Acts 11:23 It says that Barnabas came and saw the grace of God. I wonder what the "grace of God," looked like. I bet it looked like what scripture said it did!! "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and Godly in the present age."(Titus 2:11-12) "God resist the proud, but gives grace to the humble." (James 4:6) " But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not i, but the grace of God which was with me." (1 Corinthians 15:10).......Barnabas witnessed the grace of God in the Church of Antioch because he saw righteousness, humility and labors of love in the people of God. Grace is not simply an invisible blanket of God's mercy that covers us when we sin. Grace is the visible empowerment of God to save us from sin. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."(Ephesians 2 8:9)........A life that is lived in the grace of God will be one that says no to unrighteousness, that is humble and that is able to accomplish more than anything we can do in our own human strength for the glory of God. As a believer, those looking at our lives should be able to see the grace of God. We all share the same spirit full of Grace, Mercy, and Love! Can others see the grace of God in your life? Wrestle with that I did that's why I wrote on this issue have a great day and let your light shine, ONE LOVE Jason Ashley

LOVE WILL CAST OUT FEAR!

Love will cast out Fear

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love”
(1 John 4:17-18 (NIV).

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid”
(John 14:27 (NIV).

Jesus gave us his peace that surpasses all of our natural understanding telling us that God is love. It is with His identity in His heart located within each of us that all fears of our imagination and tormenting voices must flee (1 John 4:16). Our Heavenly Father is a jealous Dad who will not allow any idols (fears) in His house (you). Even the power to remove the “tormenting fears” we struggle with daily belongs to God (Psalm 62:11).

How many deceptive voices are counseling your mind?

The fear of:
Death
Loss of job
Change
What others think
What is happening with my children
Concern with family or friends
Darkness
Health
Insecurity
Being a sinner or doing something wrong
Lack of finances
Falsely judged
Insecurity
Correction
Loss of control
__________________ (you fill in the blank)

We have not received the spirit of bondage to these or any other fears; but we have received the Spirit of God allowing us to boldly go before the throne of God calling Him Father (Romans 8:15). God did not give us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a righteous mind (2 Timothy 1:7).

The reason these fears enter our thoughts is not that God wants to condemn us, for there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus who gave us the Spirit of Life and Power. God has allowed these counselors of “fear” to come forth into the light of our awareness (His presence within us) so that the thoughts of our imagination are judged within ourselves allowing the perfect love we have in Him to cast out all our fears. Paul says 1 Cor 4:3-5, “I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. The Lord judges me. Therefore, judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God” (NIV).

God has allowed your fears and thoughts of the imagination to come forth so that He can reveal to you Christ within yourselves. The kingdom of God is righteous, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. It is not just in word, but also in His power that we manifest His presence through our faith in God. We are not to be afraid or tormented when our thoughts or imagination try to counsel us with “fear,” but to have faith in God that it is our Father’s good pleasure to give us His kingdom today (Luke 12:32).

It is with this understanding that our love, our identity in Christ, is made perfect. There is no fear in love, in God, and nothing is impossible for Him.

God’s perfect love in you will cast out all imagination of thoughts that is made perfect in His love. Bring your concerns and fears before the Lord allowing Him to remove them as He surrounds you with His peace. When we understand the reason that we were made aware of any fear is so that His presence, His love, His life, within you can cast out those “fears” allowing our identity in Christ to be made perfect. It is in this perfection that when others see us, they see their Heavenly Father…for it is Christ in us, the hope of His glory, which is manifested in the earth as the sons of God.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith-of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:3-9 (NIV).

Building a foundation at home.

Good morning friends I pray you are all doing well. I'm going to be writing about relationships today. These are some things I have learned and things that I constantly have to put forth the effort to do. Sometimes it's tough but I have realized IT'S WORTH IT! I pray you are challenged today by this blog post. Here we go!

Building a good relationship at home is like building a wall: It’s done brick by brick. And the mortar that holds it together is UNCONDITIONAL, UN-CONDEMNING, UNSELFISH LOVE. The only way you’ll know how good a job you’ve done is when it’s tested by the storms of life. One of the most important keys to succeeding at home is- communication. So:

• (1) Become creative. Spend time together as a family. Call your spouse during the day and plan date nights. Send her flowers love on her all the time instead of just one flipping day a week. Treat her like Christ treats us. As for your kids, communication with them is also huge. Build your relationships with your children on a solid foundation. Spend quality time with them instead of buying them whatever they want. Stuff will fade but the time you spend with them will never be forgotten!

The next thing is one that I will say takes work because it’s so easy for it to work its way in to your family time.

• (2) Identify communication killers. Internet, cell phones and TV are the worst ones! The average couple spends less than 1 hour a week communicating with one another, and we wonder why the divorce rate is skyrocketing.

• (3) Encourage one another at home; build each other up instead of tearing one another down. Differences of opinion are very healthy for building a great relationship with your family members if handled right WITH LOVE. The final one is very important.

• (4) Be conscious of how you interact with your family. You may have unwittingly adopted a style of communication. Stop and consider; do you: (a) retaliate- that has a degrading effect; (b) dominate- that has an intimidating effect; (c) isolate- that has a frustrating effect: (d) cooperate- that has an encouraging effect. If you’re in the habit of using any communication style other than a cooperative one, start working immediately to change it. You’ll have to, if you want to build a good relationship with your family. The most important thing when building family relationships is to keep JESUS CHRIST FRONT AND CENTER IN EVERYTHING! I pray this helps you realize just how important building relationships are. I love you all..with love, Jason Ashley

The mind is a terrible thing to waste.

Hello friends I hope you all are having a wonderful day. I am going to be writing about the mind today. I am convinced that many believers are imprisoned by their own minds, their own thinking. Our thoughts control our emotions our emotions control our actions. Do you ever feel like your stuck? Ever feel beat down, worried, ever feel like you are out of control? I have and still to this day have days where I feel this way. I have days where I feel like pulling the curtains down and covering my head up and don’t even want to get out of bed. If we are honest we all have days like this. However for me and you there is hope and a way we can have a renewed mind and wake up refreshed instead of beat down. Our own logic sometimes puts our mind in chains. I have come to realize that there are things I will never understand about God but I also believe when we allow The Holy Spirit to renew our minds we will understand more. The Holy Spirit working in our hearts and minds can free us from shame, guilt, and whatever else is keeping us chained up within our souls. Scripture has some things to say about the renewing of the mind. Scripture also tells us to set our hearts and minds on things above.

Ephesians 4:23 says that after salvation we are to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Colossians 3:2 set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 1 Peter 4:7 the end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self controlled so that you can pray. 1 Peter 1:13 therefore, prepare your minds for action: be self controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given to you when Jesus Christ is revealed. Romans 12:2 do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.

So as I read these scriptures many things stick out to me that have to do with our minds. For one the mind is a very powerful thing to waste. Peter writes to tell us to be clear minded which simply means we need to be focused and refreshed in our thinking. We don’t need to have things on our mind that we could have taken care of days, months, even years ago. Is there something or someone you need to have a conversation with today, someone who has hurt you or maybe you wronged someone in some way. Get that off of your mind! Some instances could be taken care of easily or some could take some counseling or therapy. I don’t know your past, present and certainly not your future but I do know the more we have on our minds the more we are weighed down and our thinking gets foggy. Thus we do not think clearly. Peter also says we need to prepare our minds for action, it’s impossible to prepare your mind when it’s completely bogged down. Paul says do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind. So our transformation comes through the renewing of our mind. Renew simply means to refresh or replenish. So I want to say how did we think before we met Christ? How do we think now that we have Christ living within us? Has your thinking changed in anyway or are you still bogged down and lost in your on logic and reason? I can’t answer these questions for you but I have for myself and it has changed the way I think about things, it’s changed how my mind responds to certain situations or circumstances. We are to have the mind of Christ that’s our goal and I am totally convinced this comes through the renewing of our mind. So what you may think today will affect your present and future. Choose to think positive even in the most negative of circumstances. I f you have something on your mind get it off! This is a start, remember it is a process that only the spirit working within you can do but it takes us willing to do our part, whatever that may be. Take a step today to renew your mind! Love you guys I pray that your mind finds rest today, tomorrow and forever. If you need someone to talk to email me at jason198284@hotmail.com and I would love to minister to you or learn something from you. One Love, Jason Ashley

Renewing the mind!!

Let's get straight to it!!!!

I have found out that when you tell someone that they should have a renewed mind, its like they look at you like you are speaking in Greek or something. Why? Maybe its because most people really don't know what it means to have a renewed mind in Christ Jesus. Or either they have been brain washed by the world for so long that they have started to look like the world, and try to fit in with the world instead of taking the time to spend with God so that they could get that renewed mind.

You see God does not work through conformity. He is looking for evidence of real transformation-transformation that takes place only through the renewing of the mind. When the mind is renewed, you have the mind of Christ. With God's spirit constantly flowing into your spirit you will find that you are becoming more and more like Jesus and by having the mind of Christ you will also have some "I AMness." Scripture records Jesus boldly saying, "I AM the Truth; I AM the Light; I AM the Way. I AM. I AM, I AM." The "I AMness" separates Him from everyone else. He was unique in His birth, life, and resurrection. He did not confirm His life to the customs and traditions of the culture during His life on earth. For example it was against the custom and traditions when He spoke with the woman at the well and healed the sick on the Sabbath.

Likewise, when you have a renewed mind in Christ Jesus. You have the mind of Christ, and you wont do what is not necessarily politically correct or traditional. Having a renewed mind will mean that you will start to walk in the Spirit, and not in the flesh. Why? Because you have a renewed mind in Christ. The Bible says, be in the world, not of the world.
Moreover, the mind is set upon a higher level because we are renewed through our connection with the Holy Spirit. Then each of us can say, "Get the shackles off me. I am breaking out of these chains because I have been transformed by the renewing of my mind." Thus, Satan no longer has control over you because the chains have been broken because you have a renewed mind in Christ Jesus. You have stepped into the world, but you are not conformed to the world. You are transformed by the renewing of your mind, and with the Spirit of Christ connected to your spirit, you are a new creature-an original, which cannot be imitated or duplicated. You are in control of your mind, because you have a renewed mind.

You have victory in your mind, power in your mind, joy in your mind, and you are climbing to higher heights. When you have a renewed mind in Christ Jesus, you can walk in the world but not be governed by the environment and standards of the world. You have been created by God an the world can scrape through all the facade and look at the beautiful, powerful, joyful, you, God's original and new creation.
Why? Because you have a renewed mind in Christ Jesus, and if you haven't got it yet!? You get this renewed mind, through Christ Jesus; His Word, the Holy Bible!
Because if you want to know God, you have to know Jesus, and you cant know Jesus, if you don't know your Bible, and its impossible to NOT have a renewed mind after diligently getting into the Word of God, and renewing your mind! Have a BLESSED day! One Love, Jason

Get him out of the box.

Good morning to all. I hope you had a great weekend. I pray that this post helps you but also challenges you as it has me. I am going to be getting very personal with you this morning. I fail sometimes to do the very thing I’m going to be writing about this morning! If we were all honest many of us fail to do so.

You see we limit God sometimes! Jesus is bigger than anything, any problem we face, any unexpected bill we get in the mail, any sickness we may encounter or doctor report we may receive that did not go exactly like we wanted it to. So why do we “myself included” limit God in our lives.

In all the gospels we see a very familiar story about a little boy with 5 loaves and 2 fish. You see this boy had little to offer but when put in Jesus hands he made it a lot! We could look at this story in a lot of ways but one that sticks out to me is how little faith the disciples had. They had been with Jesus and seen him heal the blind, lame and sick but when they seen all these people following behind sit on the mountainside in Galilee, they questioned themselves how will we feed all of them. They looked at a problem instead of a solution! Jesus Christ was sitting right beside them probably resting because he had been teaching all day. Scripture says in John 6:9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” The disciples questioned themselves.

This is such a problem in our everyday journey through life. We serve a humongous God and he is all powerful and supreme! So why do we limit him? You see we as believers do the same thing the disciples done. We look at how big our problems are instead of how big God is! We all have done this at one time or another. If you say you have not you probably have a problem with lying. I’m convinced if the disciples had been concerned with feeding there spiritual hunger this problem would not have seemed so big. You see Jesus wanted his followers to seek him for himself, and not for what he could do for them. You see we serve an in control God in an out of control world! We all need to believe that through the lowest of lows we serve the highest of highs! In John 16:33 Jesus said in this life we will have trouble, notice he said we will, not we might! So when a problem comes your way look up and smile Jesus is with you DO NOT FEAR. Joshua 1:9 Have a Jesus Christ filled day! With Love Jason

Digging for dirt or gold?

I would like to start out today’s post with a question I think we all need to answer. Are you going for dirt or gold? Let me explain. Encouragement is a great thing; we all like it and want more of it. In a very negative world encouragement is hard to locate. It seems like everyone’s out to get dirt on somebody. We see it in Hollywood everyday, it also happens in the workplace and yes even churches all across this country. The fact of the matter is some people would like to see you screw up more than see you succeed. I know it’s sad but these types of people are not happy and they screw up so much they like to see you screw up just to make them feel better. (Pray for these types of people that Christ would change their hearts.) Thank God not all people are like this. There are still people out their willing to look past the dirt to what’s behind it.. GOLD!

You see gold miners often have to drill through tons of dirt to get to 1 ounce of gold. They are determined to find something great. Lets face it we are all not good people, but we all have positive attributes about us. So realize this, we all have gold behind our dirt but often people would rather see your screw ups than your success. Jesus Christ makes no mistakes and when he created you he created something beautiful and he has an incredible plan for your life. YOU HAVE A PURPOSE! So try today to look at the positives in each other; people you work with, family, friends etc. Look past the dirt we all have it and look for the gold we have it also, Gold is far more brighter than dirt!. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up….” We must encourage not discourage! Encourage one another and smile with love in your heart at someone today. Your smile may be the only one they see all day. With love to ALL. Jason Ashley

Feeling guilty? Let it go today!!

Good morning friends! I worked on this post for about a week or so. It is my prayer that this blog post encourages you and that if you are battling with guilt that you will give that guilt to God. He will take it from you and set you free from guilt. HERE WE GO! Let your guilt go! If you need a little extra boost to make that happen read this paraphrase of Romans Chapter 8 verses 28-39. Read it slowly, maybe even aloud. If this don't light your fire, you got wet wood! So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God's chosen? Who would dare even point a finger? The One who died for us-who was raised to life for us!-is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us? THERE IS NO WAY! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing. Now to God's word Romans 8:28-39. 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the first born among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined he also called;those he called, he also justified;, he also glorified. 31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, than who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died-more than that, who was raised to life-is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." Psalm 44:22. 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels or demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Paul is very clear that nothing can separate us from the love of God, not even GUILT! In closing I pray for you that you would trust Jesus to free you from any guilt you may be facing. One Love, Jason Ashley

In God we trust.

Hello! Trusting God is a great adventure. He initially ask us to offer up all that we hold dear and find security in, for the sake of following him. In Genesis 12 we learn this through 2 commands God gives Abram “Leave” and “Go”. Take some time to study Genesis 12 and pay close attention to what God told Abram! Was Abram disobedient or did he trust God enough to just do it? Did he give God the Heisman or did he do as he was instructed? Did he “Leave” and “Go”? Is there an area in your life that you need to leave or is there a step you need to take closer to God? Wrestle with these questions... I did and it rocked me! Enjoy your evening. One Love, Jason

Just walk.

Haven't blogged in a while. I'ts great to be blogging again. I pray this post helps you in some way. If you have asked God in faith to fill you with His Holy Spirit, you can be confident that He has filled you according to His promise. Now you are able to live everyday walking in the fullness of the Spirit He has given you. The Bible compares people to trees; the way to know a good tree is by its fruit, or by the actions of the person: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22). God wants every Christian to produce good fruit and has given you the Holy Spirit so that you can live a life like Jesus Christ, one of love and of power.
As a Christian, you must make a continual choice between walking according to the desires of your old self and walking according to the desires of the Holy Spirit. We are told in Galatians 5:16, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” You can learn to walk in the Holy Spirit as you read and obey God’s Word, give thanks to Him in all things, and continually confess yours sins to God and ask for forgiveness. If you want to live your life walking in the Spirit, tell God now that you want Him to teach you. Because it is what He wants for you, you can know that He will do it. One Love, Jason

He's right there!!

There are times in our lives where as Christ Followers we feel like Jesus is right there with us. There are also times where we wonder "Where God is?". Life is full of high points and low points. Have you ever felt like your on cloud nine? Then just a short time later feel like life is passing you by? Jesus said so many things in the scriptures about our lives as believers. He said we will have trouble in this life and on this earth, but he also said fear not I have overcome the world. Our lives are full of emotion, that's why we cannot lean on our emotions but rather lean on the unchanging word of God. When life is good everything seems to be perfect we throw our hands up and worship him, we serve him more, we feel like nothing can stand in the way of us having joy( By the way it can't, only if you let it.... will it!!). Why is it when things are bad everything in us wants to run away from him? I believe sometimes we could be basing our lives off of emotion instead of reality. Our flesh is crucial that's why it is so important to die to ourselves everyday. It's so important to pick up our cross and follow Jesus everyday, not just when its convenient. Sin is crucial!!!!! TRUTH= Jesus defeated sin on the cross, He said "It is finished" so why at times do we not hold on to that truth when we are in the valley. There is joy in the Lord, unexplainable joy even though sometimes we may not feel like we have it. What is it that steals our joy, leaves us feeling beat down and broken? Where do we turn for answers? How can we change our way of thinking? Those are just some questions I've asked myself when I'm going through the valley. Sometimes we may no get an answer from God. Sometimes it takes us being broken to see whats really important. I have been in ministry for 7 years and I have all kinds of questions. Some I may never have the answers too( That's where I choose to live by faith), others I may have had answered and really didn't want to hear the answer. Whether you have the answers or don't we must choose to follow the truth and Jesus is The Way, The Truth, and The Life! If your going through a valley HE KNOWS! If your doing well HE KNOWS! I pray all of us as Followers of Jesus lean not on our own understanding, lean not on our emotions. I pray we walk in Spirit and in Truth. Realize that we are sons and daughters of the most high God. It's not easy but neither was the cross. Neither is our cross, at times it's heavy. I pray we pick it up and press on, persevere! As I close out this post I want you to know that whether your doing great or if your in a valley Jesus really does love you. Sometimes the best answer is one that we don't want to hear. One Love, Jason.

What is or isn't?

I write this post as a believer in Jesus that has struggled with forgiving people who have harmed and hurt me in ways you may or may not believe. I'm currently working out some of my own forgiving issues and just thought I would share with you what God is teaching me about forgiveness. I pray this post will shine light on one of the biggest problems we face in and outside the church in this nation and in the world. The church in America and across the world is full of people who have been hurt in some way, shape or form. Whether we were hurt by someone in the church or someone outside of the church it's painful and it can hinder our walk with Jesus. It can also shape and change who we are as Christ Followers in a great way. The issue I will be talking about if you haven't already figured it out is forgiveness. I am convinced that some people have unresolved conflicts toward a group of people or just one person and it has hindered their walk with Christ and it causes pain in their lives everyday. Forgiveness is a tough issue to write about. For some it may not be hard for you to forgive, but for others it may be very hard to let go and just simply forgive the person or persons that have hurt you. For some it may be a deep issue that you have tucked away and tried to forget about without forgiving but that NEVER works. It will ALWAYS resurface until you deal with the issue of forgiveness. Why is it so hard to forgive others? We serve a God who has forgiven us. He sent his son to die on a cross so we would be forgiven and made right in the eyes of God. Therefore you would think that it would not be an issue, but for some it is the very thing holding you back from being who Jesus Christ is calling you to be. So today I want to shine light on what TOTAL forgiveness is and what TOTAL forgiveness is not. I am currently reading one of the best books I have ever read in my life and the title of the book is TOTAL FORGIVENESS and the author is R.T. KENDALL. I encourage you to get this book and let it penetrate your heart and mind. Let it begin to help you work out the very thing or things that could be holding you back from being who you are in Christ Jesus. Jesus said in scripture if you have a problem with a brother that is unresolved to leave the altar and go work it out. So we as believers in Jesus need to work out things as we come across them in life. First lets look at what TOTAL forgiveness isn't. 1) Approval of what they did. 2) Excusing what they did. 3) Justifying what they did. 4) Pardoning what they did. 5) Reconciliation. 6)Denying what they did. 7) Blindness to what happened. 8)Forgetting. 9) Refusing to take the wrong seriously. and finally number 10) Pretending we are not hurt. NOW let's look at what TOTAL forgiveness is. 1) Being aware of what someone has done and still forgiving them. 2) Choosing to keep no record of wrongs. 3) Refusing to punish. 4) NOT TELLING WHAT THEY DID!!! 5) Being merciful. 6) Graciousness. 7) It is an inner condition. 8) It is they absence of bitterness. 9) FORGIVING GOD!!! 10) FORGIVING OURSELVES!!!! As I close I pray that you will take this and dig deeper into your heart and soul and deal with any forgiveness issues you may have in your life. IT'S WORTH IT.... BUT IT TAKES WORK SPIRITUALLY, PHYSICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY!! One Love, Jason Ashley

Kick The enemy IN THE TEETH!!!

OK so I know on my blog I was doing some writing on some teaching about the Holy Spirit and I will continue doing that in the near future but today Jesus threw me a curve ball and told me to write about something that he has been teaching me through the many weeks of rest I have had. So let's dive in!! Day by day we must, notice I said we... illustrate our commitment to Jesus with a sacrifice that serves OTHERS in the midst of mounting opposition. Anything worth accomplishing requires great sacrifice in the lives of those that want to live out the great commission!! It's not easy as we walk by faith and carry our cross daily. There are times I myself as a follower of Christ want to throw my hands up and say "You know what the hell with it!" but there is something deep inside of me that wants to see people come to Jesus and myself mature and grow as a believer. NEVER NEVER let the enemy overcome who you are in Jesus. You are a child of God who has the king inside of you and with that YOU CAN DO ANYTHING. Step back for a second and just look at Nehemiah, read Nehemiah, heck read Phil. 4:13 YOU CAN DO ANYTHING IN THE NAME OF JESUS! Because there is mighty POWER in the name of our lord. MAKE SURE YOU DO IT FOR THE RIGHT REASONS! We must persevere til the end. Love you all. It is my prayer that you kick the enemy in the teeth and help the big C "Church" RUN UP THE SCORE. One Love, Jason Ashley

Holy Spirit? HIM!!

This is post #2 on some teaching about the Holy Spirit basically today we are going to look at the characteristics of Him. Let's just dive right in this morning. The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit is a person. Jesus never referred to "it" when He was talking about the Holy Spirit. In John 14, 15, and 16, for example, He spoke of the Holy Spirit as "He" because He is not a force or thing but a person. Whoever speaks of the Holy Spirit as "it" in uninstructed and perhaps undiscerning. In the book of Romans Chapter 8:16 the King James Version(Which is not the only version of the Bible!!!! Just figured I would throw that in there.) refers to the Holy Spirit as "itself". This is a mistranslation. Nearly all of the newer translations have changed "itself" to "himself". As we look through the scriptures we see that the Holy Spirit has intellect, emotions, and will. Also the Bible ascribes to Him the acts we would expect of someone who was not just a force, but a real person. So let's journey through the scriptures together. This is going to take time and effort on your part, because you have to look up the scriptures. He speaks: (Rev. 2:7). He intercedes: (Romans 8:26). He testifies: (John 15:26). He leads:(Acts 8:29 and Romans 8:14). He commands: (Acts 16:6, 7). He guides: (John 16:13 RSV). He appoints: (Acts 20:28). He can be lied to: (Acts 5:3, 4). He can be insulted: (Heb. 10:29). He can be blasphemed: (Matt. 12:31, 32). He can be grieved: (Eph. 4:30). Clearly the Holy Spirit is a person all of the emotions and acts I just listed are characteristics of a person. The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force, like gravity or magnetism. He is a person, with all the attributes of personality. But not only is He a person; He is divine as well. We will learn more about how Divine he is in my next post. Oh and just to throw this out there HE IS GOD!! One Love, Jason Ashley

Our needs!!

Today is the first day of many days I will be writing about what God has been teaching me about the Holy Spirit. I pray as you read and learn with me our lives are transformed and made even more complete through the work of the Holy Spirit that works within us to shape us and lead us into total and complete truth. So here we go...........Man has two great spiritual needs One is forgiveness. The other is for goodness. Consciously or unconsciously, his inner being longs for both. The Spirit of the living God has already given us both we just have to walk in it and live it out day by day. We have to realize that God does not want us to come to Christ by faith, and then lead a life of defeat, discouragement, and dissension. Rather , He wants to "fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power; in order that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in us" (2 Thess. 1:11, 12). We have to realize as children of God that we have been given the authority and the power through the Holy Spirit to bring Jesus ultimate Glory. I read a quote once that stuck out to me it read like this "I need Jesus Christ for my eternal life, and the Holy Spirit of God for my internal life." As Christians we tend to wait on God or wait on the spirit to tell us something, when we need to realize that the Holy Spirit is waiting for us. We are no longer living in a time of promise, but in the days of fulfillment. Let's live lives that shake a generation. Let's start walking in the POWER and LOVE God has given us as children as Him. I pray this post changes your life. I am currently working on my next post titled "Spirit it or HE?" One Love, Jason Ashley

DJGF EMOTIONS!

The fourth century theologian Augustine: insights on fear. Augustine teaches that humans are created to love and designed to love. He teaches they are four principal emotions that shape us as we pursue love. They are DESIRE, JOY, GRIEF, and most of all FEAR! John Charles Selner, who studied Augustine and wrote many books on this subject, tells it like this, “Desire attracts us to what we love. Joy accompanies the experience of love. Grief is what we feel when we lose love. Fear is the emotion we experience when we believe we may lose love.” This is so true; I have felt this way many times in my life and as a matter of fact this week. You see pursuing love is an emotional battle. However these emotions can shape us if we let them. So many of us are control freaks. We try to control everything even love when the reality is we need to pursue love instead of trying to control it. I have never been great at this at times I’m sometimes lazy at pursuit. Whether it be planning a date night or just stopping and listening to my wife. You see that’s the secret to a successful marriage listening to your wife. Although I struggle at this from time to time I try my hardest to listen to my wife. That is all women want we as men to listen. If were honest we all struggle with pursuit in some way. Whether it is laziness, fear, or just not making the time to pursue. So do we acknowledge? Or do we ignore pursuit? Is today the very day you try harder to pursue your spouse? I am going to pursue like never before. Remember the four principal emotions that shape us as we pursue love. Desire, Joy, Grief, and Fear let them shape you! Have a Jesus filled day!

LOVE TANK!!

This is straight from the heart, to the notepad, to the keyboard. I have been on empty several times in my 7 years of ministry and I don't want you making the same mistakes that I have made. I pray that through the power of the Holy Spirit this blog post changes your life. So let's get started!! Luke chapter 8 verses 45-48. In these verses a women reaches out and touches Jesus on his cloak. Though he is in a large crowd he feels this energy comes out of him. He turns and asked who touched me and then an unclean woman fell at his feet and worshipped him. He told her your faith in me has healed you. Then it hit me when you love you get, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritual depleted. Love takes a lot of energy from you Christ felt this energy leave him in this text. You know you work hard all day. You come home and is it the TV you choose or playing with your kids? Love is tiring at times. However it’s the most important thing in your life! Christ is Love! Sometimes the best thing for us to do is stop and rest. Refill your tank(BE A SELFISH CHRISTIAN AND LET OTHERS LOVE ON YOU) and it will not cost you $2.50 a gallon to do it... Ha! Ha! I look through scripture and I see Jesus rest, He takes a boat across the lake to get away from the crowds. He takes a rest on the floor of a boat. Often He would go to a solitary place. He rested when he needed to rest. See Satan wants us to be so busy and caught up in the motions that we never rest. If you never rest you can’t love the way you should. My question to you, are you on empty? Are you to drained to love the way you should? If so rest its important. Love is everything! Jesus said come to him and he will give you rest. Matthew chapter 11 Verse 28 read it for yourself. Love you all and pray that the LOVE in you is recharged and then released into the lives of others around you. AND IT STARTS AT HOME!!! I would love to hear some feedback and pray for you, so leave your prayer request under comments and I will pray for you..

Wash Da MuDDDDDDDD!

Good afternoon to all! I just finished a killer workout and some lunch! Today I plan on relaxing and taking some time for myself! I believe quiet time is essential in our walk with God! When I say quiet time I mean complete quietness; no cell phone, no TV, no radio just total silence! This is so necessary it’s amazing how clear you can hear the voice of God when you just get alone with him and LISTEN! Try it! I have been wondering what to blog about today and I was told Character! I usually write all my blogs in advance on paper after alone time with God, but this one is coming straight from my fingers! The title “Why do Christians waver?” I believe it’s because our commitment to stand is not grounded in God’s character, but rather upon the characters with which we are standing or our circumstances. We as believers must be anchored in the God who does not change. Malachi Chapter 3 verse 6 says “I the lord do not change”. You see we can’t base our lives off of emotions and circumstances, we would never be happy! The kind of character you have reflects who you are as a person! You see Jesus is reliable and trustworthy. That is the kind of character he is looking for in his children! If any of you have kids you can honestly say you want them to be reliable and honest with you all the time! It’s the same way with Jesus Christ he expects us to be true to him and to others! Life is hard; no one can say it’s easy. I firmly believe character is important; your word is all you have so when you give it to some one follow through with what you said you would do! Remember your children learn from you! Have a great day! With Love Jason

The Enemy SUCKS!

Good morning everyone! I would like to talk today about EXPOSING. Nobody likes to here the word Satan but I’m going to be talking about him today. I will be exposing him. Please pay attention to this verse especially the first part. 1 Peter Chapter 5 verse 8 says. "Be self controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."As I unpack this text it may get very personal, but that’s ok. The first part I think is the most important be SELF-CONTROLLED AND ALERT! You have to be constantly aware of your surroundings and use the knowledge the lord gives you. Some people think they can live like hell 6 days a week and then come to church on Sunday and everything is ok. Newsflash its not, if your doing this you have no self control and you’re using Jesus as a prostitute! Yes I said it a prostitute, you go to him whenever things get hard and turn away when things are great! Sometimes you may do this and be so caught up in the motions you don’t realize it. Others may no they are doing it and really could care less and that’s sad. If you can do this every week and feel no conviction it may be time for a salvation check! We must live in a constant state of repentance and not give the Devil one inch because he can come in and rule your life if you allow him to. A lion is very sneaky and after he has made his kill he will always roar! Why the roar? Is it because he is getting emotional about the kill? The answer is no. Often when a lion makes a kill a pack of scavengers will come up and run him off! You see the lion roars to make everyone think he is big and bad when the truth is he is submissive. So basically he is a wimp with a big mouth! Sound familiar Satan has a big mouth and it’s filled with lies! He will lie to you. He will tell you God does not love you, you’re worthless, you will never make it, etc….. Folks I’m telling you we don’t have to listen to that garbage. We must realize we can keep Satan in proper perspective. He is submissive to God and if God lives in you. You can resist him! You see we are children of the most high and he created us for a purpose. He has a great life already planned for us! You see 1 John 4:4 says, He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. So if you are struggling and Satan is attacking you! Tell him Go to Hell! Jesus Christ is Ruler not you! He will flee! If your on the front lines for Jesus he wants to destroy you more than anyone so always be Self-Controlled and Aware! If this offended you take it up with God he told me to blog about this today and I will be held accountable for what he ask me to do! So get over it and smile! Have a Productive Day! Love Jason