Lately, I’ve been in pursuit of understanding God’s ways and two things stood out— complaining and the move of God during times of disappointment. Letting go of things and letting God have His way is so much better than holding on to them and letting them fester inside of me. In theory, it’s the Christian thing to do but in practice, I’m more familiar with being controlled by anxiety and trying to make things work in my favor. The transition to relinquishing everything to God is gaining newer depths in my heart than it did before.
Not too long ago, I found out that someone I once loved, was [click to continue…]
I use to withdraw from God and play victim during negative experiences and disappointing trials and tribulations. I would ponder on how could God allow the bad experiences to happen. Now I draw closer Him to seek His purpose.
The Lord has used some very painful situations to teach me to be still and let Him be God. This realization did not come easy. I noticed that the longer it took me to catch on, the longer the periods of suffering lasted. It felt like I was repeating the first grade over and over. I was so eager to leave the pain without inquiring from God what was His intended purpose and gain.
It wasn’t until most recently when others began sharing their pain with me that a light bulb was turned on [click to continue…]
Today, I’m at peace and happy. I don’t have much to share apart from saying that I awoke one morning feeling happy that even in my dreams, I can say no to sin. It’s actually not a bad thing to know that even in my subconscious, I was able to say no. It might not be a big deal to some but for me knowing that I’m choosing not to give in to temptation, says a lot and in some ways, helps me see what’s fueling my motives.
It felt good waking up that morning to face myself and Jesus, knowing that there wasn’t anything that I was ashamed of [click to continue…]
“What must I do to be saved?” When we die to the law and to our old life of sin, we become a new person with new power to live a clean life before God. It is a common myth that we can be saved and continue to walk in our sin. If you want a pure heart, you must walk by faith and not by works, and He will give you the desire of your heart.
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Lately, I’ve been giving much thought to the need for making adequate preparation for some of the things that I do on a frequent basis. I find that the slightest postponement of a simple task or an oversight can really throw me off. There’ve been times when I’ve failed in performing a task due to inadequate preparation. It’s gaining my attention since it strikes a parallel for me with making adequate preparation for the Kingdom of God.
I’m not concerned about not being able to do everything I have on my list. What really concerns me are the things that fall through the cracks because I don’t follow through on completely preparing. I had the unfortunate experience of [click to continue…]
As I continue to reflect on taking up my rightful place in the body of Christ, I am concerned about bringing harm to the body. According to the scriptures, we are all connected in a unique way just like the human body. It makes me tremble at the thought of adversely affecting the Lord’s body.
I cried out to the Lord this week and repented for not being there to support the body because I was too consumed with self, for envying someone else’s position in the past and, for not practicing honest biblical fellowship.
Show Notes by Jim Kerwin for Kernels of Wheat Podcast
Episode 009 – That Uncomfortable Word
Very uncomfortable indeed...
Introduction
“Sinning Christians” (an oxymoron) aren’t entirely responsible for being careless about continuing in sin, since they came in under a “gutted Gospel,” one that omits not only taking up one’s cross to follow Jesus, but also omitting the key Gospel element the Holy Spirit uses to expose sin and convict of it.
Key Scripture from 1 John:
What is sin? 1 John 3:4 defines what sin is—”Sin is anomia” [click to continue…]
As I began preparing breakfast, my thoughts began to trail to something that became quite exciting. Some may not, at this very moment, understand why I’m so excited over something that I already know. I can only say that it was the word of the Lord to my heart.
I had a new experience in understanding that I’m a part of the seed of Abraham. It seemed as if time stopped for me and returned to the day when God promised Abraham that in his seed all the nations would be blessed. The promise came closer to me when [click to continue…]
My heart is grieved as I think about all of the distractions that take me away from being about my father’s business. I know that distractions can be used as a crafty and cunning device by the adversary. However, I also know that the flesh is so used to dominating in areas of self-centeredness and self-gratification. I struggle at times maintaining discipline especially, when I have health problems.
Most recently, I had a major illness that left me feeling like a dish cloth. The fatigue and all of the intricate details of recovery sucked so much out of me that I could not be about my father’s business. [click to continue…]
“Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.” — II Cor. 7:1-2.
I found these words resonating within my heart, in such a strange way. Undoubtedly, the richness of God’s word has this effect on a man or woman but this time the experience went a bit deeper than water being poured on dry earth. It was the conviction of the Holy Spirit in my heart. There was something contaminating my spirit, which blocked the perfection of holiness.
As I sat and listened to the preaching of God’s word on Sunday and as the Holy Spirit came and made His inspection of my heart, I started questioning my actions [click to continue…]
What is sin? 1 John 3:4 defines sin as lawlessness. Sin then is a voluntary rebellion against the will of God. Sin is an offense against God that I choose when I walk in my own will. Righteousness is innocence. We see the consequences of sin in our daily life—in our finances, in our relationships, and in the pain that fills our hearts. Are you carrying a burden of sin on your back or are you unconscious and dull of spirit? At the cross of Jesus the burden of sin can be cut from your back! You can be made alive in Jesus!!!
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Studies in the Book of Romans with Pastor Ray Greenley
#13: A Man Clothed In Rags
Do you have a great burden on your back? When you begin to read the book of Romans, if you will not use the modern churches’ tinted glasses, conviction of sin will grow in your heart. You will feel the heavy burden on your back. But a pathway of escape has been opened for you by Jesus. The forgiveness of sin is by faith. Righteousness is by faith and not by works, but it is not make-believe righteousness. In this study we will look at the provision made for us.
January was a month of great intensity for me. I began the year with a determination to read the bible through in 30 days. Now, I think it’ll take me another five days to finish up since I lost time attending to unforeseen circumstances. While committing to walk through this kind of a fast for the entire month, I don’t think that I’ve ever had to work as hard as I did on my job. I’ve had many late nights at work but they weren’t as intense and demanding, not to mention the added strain of experiencing the pain of death and the scare of a family crisis.
In all of this rocking of my boat, I was pushed to the extreme physically, emotionally and spiritually. [click to continue…]
**As I have been struggling in my personal and spiritual life, I have decided to take a 60 day sabbatical from journaling and from hosting events**
I recently changed my Facebook profile picture to represent my stepping back from leadership roles. My previous photos have been with fellow hikers that I’ve led on Saturday outings; my current photo is a group of friends 3 and ½ years ago holding up a surprise homecoming/birthday banner. I had gone away at that time for 8 months to [click to continue…]
