Come Out From Among Them

According to II Corinthians 5:17 we have been freed from the old way of life. In II Corinthians 6:14 Paul was not encouraging isolation from unbelievers. Rather he was discouraging compromise with their sinful practices and values. As believers we must maintain integrity as we live in this world. This is what Jesus Christ did when He was here on Earth. We must be sober (self disciplined) and vigilant (alert to the spiritual pitfalls) in order to successfully navigate this life. The enemy's biggest weapon is to keep us functioning in carnality; relying solely on our senses. Your history develops your character in order to catapult you into your future. You can't determine your future by your history. Your history does not have to follow you into your future unless you know that it leads to kingdom success. What does not benefit the kingdom, let it remain in your history.

Be well,

Pastor Hines

A Successful Family

A successful family is not determined by the number of years together or the social economic status achieved. Rather a successful family is determined by the quality of life and experiences that foster joy and cohesiveness that produces healthy relationships. Eccl. 2:24-26 and 3:12 lets us know that we should enjoy everything God gives us because it is a gift. "People who play together, stay together." Lack of play and enjoyment in family produces conflict. Conflict is when expectation meets reality and produces anything other than the joy God intended. It is interesting to watch nature and see animals play together. What happens to adults that we stop playing and enjoying the fullness of life? It is all vain. Playing and having fun in family reduces conflict, builds relationships, and reveals commonalities that causes us to focus on likes versus dislikes. In Psalms 100 God gives us the blue print for happiness. Money is not the answer, rather we must become as little children trusting that God is our friend and His word is yeah and amen.

Be well

Choices

Life is filled with daily choices. From the beginning, God has always given us the opportunity to make choices. Some refer to this as a free will. The challenging thing about choices is that they affect others as well as ourselves. The beautiful thing about God is that often in the midst of our bad choices, God still gives us a second chance. One example of making good choices is the story of J

oseph in Potifar's house (Genesis 39). There are challenges that hinder us from making good choices.

1. Following your flesh

2. Who you associate with

3. Trying to relieve the past

In order to make good choices, one cannot follow their heart. One must lead their heart by following the Word of God. The Holy Spirit is our GPS system. Sometimes when making the right choice, it may appear initially that everything seems all wrong. When Joseph made the choice to run from Potifar's wife, it landed him in prison. But even in prison, God was in the midst and gave him favor in that situation. Make the choice today to allow Jesus to make your pathway straight and trust in Him with all of your heart.

Be well,

Giving Your Time and Talent to the Kingdom

Friends of God! What a wonderful privilege to have this kind of relationship with God. No relationship can grow without investment of time. The same is true with our friendship with God. It's not just a matter of praying and reading but also giving time into his kingdom. When you give your time to anything, you are serving that thing. Serving will always be distressing, require reassessing, and be a blessing. The unfortunate thing is after we give time to something or somebody, we think we are entitled to preferential treatment. Nothing could be further from the truth. As a leader, the higher we grow in the pyramid of leadership, the fewer rights we have. Also the higher we grow, the more responsibilities we have. One cannot be a leader if they are not willing to serve people. This is what Jesus did when he was on earth. Your time given to God or others is the denial of yourself.

In the area of giving your talent to the Kingdom, the key is relinquishing the abilities that you have and the talents given into the kingdom for God's use. Most of us spent a great deal of our time serving the enemy. Today we will decide for the days we have left that we declare that our talent belongs to God. We typically look at talents in the area of performing. We don't look at our abilities as talents for Kingdom use. We have purpose for our use of talents even in the work place. David gave his talents to God that later was multiplied by God. He practiced playing the harp, walking in excellence, having courage, and being a warrior; even before he met Goliath or Saul. In John 6:5-13 the little boy came with a lunch and prepared to eat. Your preparation for life is in the development of your talents. Your talents and abilities are what you eat from. The smartest thing anyone will ever do is prepare for the future. God asked the little boy for his most valuable possession; his lunch. Your most valuable possessions is not your money or real estate. Your abilities are the most valuable thing you own. We have no idea how hard it was to release what he had, but we can assume, 1.) he would have preferred to keep it, 2.) he trusted Andrew not to take advantage of him, 3.) he believed they would feed him too. Whatever you Give God changes and multiplies. Our talents can produce much more if we can release them into the Kingdom. God always returns to us what we give to Him. Be blessed and encouraged.

Pastor Hines

Free Food & Free Car Wash

Leading Your Heart

God constantly tells us to lead parts of our body and the heart is no exception. Your heart is your identity; it's the real you. Proverbs 27:19 says that, "The heart of man reflects man." Everything begins with the mind. What's in your heart determines what is pure or polluted when it gets there. The mind refers to the seat or center of human emotions. The heart refers to your intellect and will. The heart is where you ponder things; your core. No amount of painting on the outside changes the value of the rotten interior. Following your heart apart from God's leading is a new age philosophy. We hear people say all the time to follow your heart, do what your heart tells you. Following your heart usually means chasing after whatever feels good or right at the time. Proverbs 28:26 states, "He who trusts in his own heart is a fool". The Bible declares that the heart is deceitfully wicked above all who can know it? Why would one follow something so wicked?

What's wrong with following your heart?
1. It's foolish
2. It's unreliable
3. It's corrupt

Proverbs 23:19 tells us to lead your heart, take full responsibility for its condition and direction. Proverbs 23:26 tells us to guide your heart. God will place skills and abilities in your heart that He wants to develope for His glory. How do I lead or guide my heart? First, understand that your heart follows whatever you invest in. Whatever you pour your time, money, and energy into will draw your heart. When you stopped investing, your heart followed. This is true in any relationship, job, church, or endeavor. This is especially true in marriage. When you stop investing in your spouse your heart follows causing you to say things like, "I don't feel in love anymore. Secondly, check your heart. Know what has your heart right now. You can tell by looking at where your investing has gone. Next, guard your heart. Proverbs 4:23 tells us to guard our heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Next, set your heart. Colossians 3:1 tells us to set our heart on things above. You choose to take your heart off of what is wrong and set it on what is right. Lastly, invest your heart. Don't wait until you feel like doing the right thing. Like an investment, you deposit before you see the results. Faith is our transportation system as believers; it's how we get from place to place in the Kingdom of God.

(S.O.S.) Saving Our Sons