Spirit Filled Believers

Gentleness or Wrath

Relationship, Scriptures, Spirit Filled Believers /
Here’s a wonderful paragraph written by Mark Melendez, an elementary principal in Sugarland, Texas. Mark’s comments apply to all of us. I hope you are encouraged to practice gentleness.

Two lambs

 

“Let your gentleness be known to all.” – Philippines 4:5 

“A gentle tongue turns away wrath.” – Proverbs 15:1  

I guess my position as building principal gives me many opportunities to stir up wrath or add fuel to it. It hasn’t taken me long to realize that wrath never ends well. I think our selfish nature figures that it is something we deserve. When someone else does us wrong it’s our duty to make them pay. We often attack either face to face with boisterous well placed, cutting words, or we choose to inflict pain through the long drawn out process of gossip, fault-finding, and devious plots. The result is harmful to all involved. This mindset robs our joy and destroys relationships to all involved, and often to innocent bystanders.

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Thriving During Seasons of Barrenness

5 Comments / Hardships, Spirit Filled Believers /

Every human wants to live a fruitful life.  We all desire to do something worthwhile, something that blesses people.  We need to feel significant.

But life on earth occasionally brings seasons of barrenness.  Those times of fruitlessness confuse us, hurt us, and test us.  Nevertheless, you cannot escape all seasons of barrenness.

Accept barren seasons as normal cycles of life.  God designed humans to be fruitful in season.  Fruitful seasons bring joy, but cannot last forever.

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The Day God Rescued Me

2 Comments / Prayer, Spirit Filled Believers /
Dear Friends,
 
     Here’s an excerpt from another book I am in the process of completing.  This short story of a real life event shows God’s mercy to James Fields.  I was doing lots of Christian work as a young pastor, but I was not fulfilling God’s purpose for my life.  Busyness does not equate to God’s pleasure.  God’s pleasure is being with us as we minister to him in praise, worship and thanksgiving.  I trust this brief account of God interrupting my day inspires you to make appointments with him.
 
     Be greatly encouraged,
 
    Pastor James Fields 
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Final Three Steps to Keeping the First and Greatest Commandment

Spirit Filled Believers /

4.    Make appointments with Jesus.  

We make appointments for everything in life: paying bills, attending children’s sports, going to work, school or church, mealtimes and vacations.

Regrettably, when I was a very young pastor I let busyness in doing good things for people squeeze private time with Jesus out of my schedule.  Fortunately, the Lord reprimanded me and set me on a new path of life.

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Six Steps to Keeping the First and Greatest Commandment

Spirit Filled Believers /

Here are the first three of six steps to keeping the first and greatest commandment.  On December 13th we will share the final three steps.

1.    Know the first and greatest commandment.  BIble

 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?”

“Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.” (Matthew 22:36-38)

Memorizing the first and greatest commandment keeps us focused on loving Jesus supremely.  Obeying him becomes absolute fun and seeking him becomes our top priority.  As a result, we experience the abundantly rich life he planned for us.

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Thoughts During Prayer

1 Comment / Prayer, Spirit Filled Believers /

In about 1974 or 75 the Lord helped me schedule private time with him into my very busy days.  I disciplined myself to place private time with him as top priority in my daily calendar.

After a few years of this regimented fellowship with the Lord I recognized that lots of up building and encouraging thoughts came to mind.  Regrettably, these thoughts disappeared after a few seconds or a few minutes.  So in August 1980 I began writing these Thoughts During Prayer in a notebook.  I’m so glad I did because since then the Lord has shared so very, very many insights into his person, his ways, and his purposes.

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That Other Experience with God

Spirit Filled Believers /

Jesus made it very plain, “No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (1) He gives us no choice—“You must be born again. (2) What did he mean by “born again?”

Humans are more than physical.  We are not mere material creatures made up of countless cells and molecules.  We are human spirits temporarily housed in these bodies.  In fact, our physical life depends on the presence of this other part of us the Bible calls “spirit”. …

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