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

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

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

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..

Are you on empty?

What up everyone? Today during my study time this morning I learned about a story in scripture 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 come 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! However it’s the most important thing in our lives! Christ is love! Sometimes the best thing for us to do is stop and rest. Refill your tank and it will not cost you $3.00 a gallon Ha! Ha! .I look through scripture and I see Jesus rest often, he takes a boat across the lake to get away from the crowds. He takes a rest on the floor of a boat during a severe storm. He would often go to a solitary place and get alone and pray. He rested when he needed to. See Satan wants you to be so busy and caught up in the motions that you 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 not to just you but to everyone around you. Love is everything. Jesus said come to him and he will give you rest. Matthew Chapter 11 Verse 28 read it for yourself. I pray this helps someone out there who is running on empty! Love, Jason

Do you UNDERSTAND?

Good morning to everyone! Do you ever have trouble understanding things? I do and in this post I will talk about our understanding, verses God’s understanding! Let’s dive right in! Life is full of things I don’t understand…why people hate on other people that are succeeding in life….why my kids do the complete opposite of what I tell them at times, can you relate to that?….why life at times seems so great but at other times it's very frustrating. I can't seem to understand why people do not get along any better than they do, nor can I figure out why special, loving people seem to die young while mean, cranky people seem to live forever. What do you do when you just don’t understand something? Sometimes I think about the fact that I do not even understand why I do what I do, so it is not unreasonable that I sometimes cannot understand why God does what he does. The fact is, there is much in life, much about God himself, much about eternity, that I will never understand. The question I need to ask is, how much understanding does it take for me to trust God. Leaning on our own understanding and on human wisdom instead of trusting Jesus leads to a lifetime of frustration and confusion instead of contentment and joy. God alone is the sole source of all understanding. What a freedom we find when we put aside our demands to understand everything and relax in the knowledge that because he does, we don’t have to. Asking him for understanding is great and we should. In fact, David cries out for it no less than 5 times in Psalm 119 as he pleads, “Give me understanding that I may live.” But the measure of our trust is revealed when we do not understand but are content to know that God does! In other words we TRUST GOD NO MATTER WHAT!! Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him, and He will make your paths straight.” That is a verse to live by! I pray you have a blessed day and know that someone loves you, his name is JESUS!

Washing Mudd!

Good morning everyone. I am going to be talking about being spiritually blind. In John chapter 9 verses 10-11, and also 35-38,39. Jesus has healed a blind man in these verses. I find it funny how the religious leaders demanded the man tell them who done this for him! Anyway that's another story for another time! Jesus said something in this scripture that blows me away. ' I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind!" The last part rocks my world. He is saying we should become blind to our plan and follow his! That's awesome that the creator of the universe would choose us. In this text the miracle is great. Jesus encounters one who has never seen or known light-a blind man from birth- and he gives this man sight and light. After Jesus spit on the ground and made mud, he covered the mans eyes with the mud. What happens next is a sign of how strong the mans faith was. Jesus told him go to the pool of Siloam and wash this off and you will see. So the man had to step up and go! After he washed his eyes he could see i can only imagine the excitement that came over him! He never had to go back to his begging post again! You see in verses 35-38 was the conversion. Jesus gave him a spiritual light also he could now see with his heart. The way to see in this world is a willingness to admit we are blind. The blind man did not argue with Jesus. He acknowledged his condition and his need. He submitted himself to Christ and was OBEDIENT! My question for you is we all have certain things we try to keep in the Dark! What are you trying to keep hid in your life? You see Jesus sees it all you can't hide it from him. Instead of hiding it ask Jesus to take it away and watch him do another awesome and great work! Love you Guys! Jason

Up or down?

Have you ever wondered how you can be in such a great mood and then one thing just ruins your day. Or maybe you wake up and nothing seems to be going your way. As Christians we can be so pumped up and motivated. Maybe we just seen a life long friend come to know Jesus, we just led someone to Christ, or even we in our own walk got our world rocked by a life changing message. They are many other things that can set you on fire spiritually! But what do you do when things just seem to steal your joy, take away from your life, or maybe you feel like your running on empty? Lets face it life is a challenge and being who Jesus called you to be and obeying him is very challenging but we have to press on. I'm going to share some scripture with you that helps me when i get down and out! Proverbs Chapter 3 Verses 1-10. 1 my son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart,2 for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. 3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck write them on the tablet of your heart.4 Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. You can continue this reading of scripture in your bible! I hope this lifts you up and gets you in the 66 book love letter he wrote to us! Have an awesome day!!!! Jason

Church and Comfort!

Hello! First i would like to say i hope you are having a great day. I'm going to talk about the Church and comfort. The two words should not be in the same sentence. I f you are trying to reach people for Christ you should never be comfortable while doing it! We have to step out of our comfort zone and reach people! For too long the people inside the church have been focused on their wants and needs and not the needs of the lost. The church should be a place where anyone could come, regardless of there clothes, car, hair, where they live or what they have done in there past. Who has the right to criticize a nonbeliever and talk bad about them when they don't know any different. If there is anyone who should feel comfort in the church its the lost. The Church was not created for people to have permanent seats or parking , how dare people act like its theirs. The Church was created for Jesus Christ to be exalted not for congregations to have a Holy huddle! I'm just sharing some very personal views and pet peeves of mine! Its my opinion and I'm not backing down. As far as youth goes here's one thing that burns me up is seeing a graveyard at a church well maintained and always shining, but the kids have to wash cars or sell donuts to go on youth camps. See the big picture is the people in the graveyard are dead and there decisions have been set. The Youth still need to be reached so why spend money on the non-important things! That cemetery will not change the world. However our youth can make a huge impact. As far as the people that don't know Jesus what are we doing to change that.All throughout scripture the teachers of Christ went out into the dangerous parts of town and reached out to them. So why are we not doing that today. You know what bothers me in the time it took to write this blog 100's of people have died without Jesus thus going to hell!!! That should be enough motivation for the Church! Faith does not require your details when God says do it just do it! This has challenged me WOW! man! I hope you get uncomfortable as well! One Love, One God, One Way!Later Jason!

My Life Story!

Good morning this will be one of the longest posts you have probably ever read! It’s the story of my life, the bad decisions and the great decisions! Well I grew up in Abbeville SC my childhood was awful suffered some abuse and went through the divorce of my parents. We never went to church and me and my sister really had no father figure there for us! He went to jail and to this day that’s where he is. So as I grew older I got involved in sex at a very young age as well as drugs and alcohol and I had a huge addiction to pornography. I abused drugs and alcohol for years! Then after graduation I continued to party and be what I always said I would never be a loser! Though I did maintain a job through all of my mistakes I wasted the money away. Then in November of 2000 I met my wife and as we started to date my influences rubbed off on her and we started partying together and of course everything that comes along with partying we did it! Then something great but scary happened she got pregnant with our first child! We were not married and did not even live together. So my lifestyle slowed down some and I started to save for us a place in Anderson. We moved to Anderson when Ethan was 1 and started living together and no we were not married! This continued for a while until my wife got invited to church by her mother! It was New Spring Church in Anderson then they were located at Anderson College Fine Arts Center. So she began to go and I noticed a change in her, she would constantly invite me and I told her I didn’t need church on Sunday that was my day to sleep in! But she was relentless she said Jason this church is different you come as you are. At that time I was still using drugs and alcohol on a daily basis. So finally one day I went to church with her and I must say I was floored at the love shown toward me and my family. I liked it and we started going every Sunday. After a while me and my wife started fussing and she looked at me one night I never will forget it she said I don’t know if I want to continue living like this. She went on to tell me that the message Pastor Perry preached that Sunday “Get right or get out” it was something like that really made her think about the direction we were headed and it was a road of destruction! So she said I want to get married! So 2 days later we went to the courthouse and tied the knot! Then God really started rocking my world! We were picking up my son from his class after the church service and Cherie Duffey whom I Love dearly was standing there and she pulled us to the side and said have you guys ever thought about volunteering with the kids! Wow I was like are you serious we are screwed up people! Then she went on to say we all are so are yaw in for next Sunday we said yes and our lives from that point on began to do a complete 180. I quit the drugs, the drinking, and the porn and really started applying the things I was being taught every Sunday. Then my world got rocked It was in February of 2004 Perry spoke a message of repentance and salvation! You see I thought I was saved because I went down to the alter at the age of 10 during an Easter Sunday and said a prayer! Here’s the thing I did not even know what I was praying or what Jesus did for me, I just went through the motions I even got baptized yep and you guessed it I was just a wet sinner! So after the message Perry preached that day it left me knowing that for the first time in my life I knew I needed Jesus because I haven’t had him in my life! And for once I understood what Jesus done for me and why I needed him to save me! So that night I got down on my knees in our bedroom and give my life to Christ. A week later my wife got baptized and then months went by and then I got baptized! So we continued to teach in the children’s ministry at New Spring and we still do and it’s such a blessing for us! God has told me to do outreach evangelism in our community and were doing it! God has totally transformed us individually and together we are an awesome team. Now we have another child a little girl and yes she is a Daddy’s girl! Here’s the reason I shared my story God has a plan for you and it doesn’t matter how screwed up you are he can fix you if you allow him to. I am still screwed up and I’m an imperfect human being but it’s amazing how Jesus uses the screwed up people to reach others for Christ. If you would like to give your life to Jesus today Pray this “Dear Lord Jesus I know I’m a sinner and I need your forgiveness I believe you died on the cross and rose from the grave come into my life take complete control Jesus I give my life to you AMEN!” If you prayed that prayer you made the best decision of your life! You need to tell someone it’s AWESOME. Contact me and I will mail you a bible and your next step needs to be finding a Church that will love you no matter what for who you are! God Bless and I Love all of you out there! Verse of the day JOHN 3:16-17 have an awesome day love Jason!

Saving Grace!

What's up! I pray your having a blessed day. 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 on 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 love Jason!

The Good!

The Gospel by its very name means “Good News.” It is considered Good News because it announces there is a solution for man’s greatest problem. We know that this “Good News” is received by faith in the grace of God. Forgiveness is not something we earn or even could earn although many people believe that lie! Forgiveness is a gift that we receive. The greatest need you and I will ever have is the removal and forgiveness of our sins(Thank God for that) Knowing that our sin eternally separates us from a Holy God puts into perspective the great gift God offers to those who will receive it by faith(JESUS). Unfortunately, many people think they can replace the gift of God by doing good works and make it to Heaven. Newsflash that can’t happen! Satan spends much time trying to get people to believe just that, because if he can trick people into believing this lie he’s got them! Remember apart from Christ no man can be saved. If we were all honest with ourselves we are not good people. I know I’m not. I’m just a crazy white boy that Loves Jesus! Remember doing good apart from Jesus is impossible! I Love all of you very much have a great day I’m off to work in just a few, Jason!

Smile! YOUR BLESSED!

Wow! what a day! Me and my beautiful wife finished up moving today and cleaned the house! We also put up a dog kennel for our mutt Cletus(He is the best dog ever)well almost my mother in laws Jack Russell is AWESOME! If their is one thing that has been on my mind it's how blessed i am! God has blessed me with so much! I truly don't deserve the air I breathe! I fail God everyday and still he loves me unconditionally! If your a Father you can relate, their is nothing that can make you stop loving your kids! Yeah I hear you! DON'T TELL PEOPLE JESUS LOVES THEM NO MATTER WHAT! sorry HE DOES! Jesus come into the world not to condemn it but to save it! He makes no mistakes and we are all created for his purpose! Life is a BEAST sometimes but GOD IS THE AUTHOR, HE IS LIFE! When in doubt look at the sky, look at the stars, look at the mountains or better yet look in the mirror you are beautiful and God made you! So smile and Thank God today! Remember every set back in life is a set up for a comeback! I Love you to all my peeps!

CRAP!

Good morning or evening wherever you are! Today was a difficult day for me. I seemed to be in a funk all day! However I still did what God told me to do, to go spread the good news about Jesus Christ! You see its days like today when Jesus moves like never before! It had to be all him because I felt like crap!! Hey I’m just being real with you! They are days when I wake up and I don’t even want to get out of bed! You have probably had days like that yourself. I remember one morning in particular I was getting ready to do Outreach and I felt like crap! So I told myself I’m not going to go and the Holy Spirit convicted me almost as soon as that thought entered my mind. It spoke and said “What if I (JESUS) had of said, you know I don’t feel like going to the cross today I will just wait!” WOW I felt like 2 inches tall after that one! So I went and WOW, we reached over 300 people that day! It wasn’t me, because like I said I didn’t feel like doing it! It was all Jesus! He has gotten me through so many tough times and days of my life! Right now I just want to tell him THANK YOU! THANK YOU JESUS FOR CHOOSING ME. I DIDN”T DESERVE IT! I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He is all powerful and sufficient!

First let me say ministry went great yesterday and people excepted Jesus as there Savior. Thats what it's all about! Now for my post!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 didn’t 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 for Jesus is with you do not fear! Joshua 1:9 Have a Jesus Christ filled day! With Love Jason

No RUSH!

Good morning everyone. I encourage you to slow down today and just tell God Thank You. We have so much to be thankful for and sometimes or should i say all the time we rush through our day without a smile on our face and peace in our souls! Stop and listen, Listen to your spouse and your children today. But most of all listen to God, he is everywhere. He is in the wind, the rain, you see his beauty through the flowers and the sunsets. You will be amazed at what you will learn and what impact you will have on others as you go through your day not rushing! So smile and have a Blessed day! Love Jason

Wired!

Good morning I hope everyone’s having a great day. Mine has been awesome I just got through feeding my 5 month old. She is growing so fast! You see she depends on me to feed her so she can grow, she can’t feed herself yet. As I think about this it means more to me than just a feeding for my child. You see I know you have heard this over and over again especially if you attend a "Traditional" Church. You hear someone say I left "so and so church" because I wasn’t getting fed there. You see there is a difference when I feed my child. She is not old enough to eat on her own; however we as believers are old enough to know we have to eat. I’m not talking about the physical eating I'm talking about the spiritual feeding that has to take place everyday. We should have quiet time with Jesus everyday and trust him. We as believers can’t take this lightly. A lot of people will not read their bibles all week long and when Sunday morning arrives they have to wipe the dust off of there bible. Then they go to church and expect to hear from God. God may or may not speak to them and they think it’s the Pastor. They think he is not giving them what they need to here. When all week long they have put God’s word on the shelf! They have starved themselves! This will cause you to be blind to the truth! My Pastor said one time that a 99% commitment to Christ is 1% to short. I believe that with all my heart! He wants all of us not our leftovers! A song that sticks out in my mind is "Surrender All". Can you sing that song and mean it? Or is it just words? You see Jesus said he would rather you be either Hot or Cold not Luke warm. He said he would spew you out of his mouth! That’s not a good thing when the creator of everything says he would spit you out of his mouth! We need him in our life. Life without Jesus is impossible we must give him everything. We were not created for our purpose he made us for his purpose! Read Proverbs 19:21 it’s his plan not ours that will succeed. All we have to do is be a willing vessel. Are you willing to give everything to him? You can do it with his help not on your own! Is today the day you give it all away? Have a great day! Love You Jason)