“If any man of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that gives to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:5-8)

I have noticed in talking to people I meet that they will try to say things that are positive or filled with hope, however, the longer they talk the more negative their words become.  I am reminded of James when he said a double minded man is unstable in all of his ways. It is hard to keep two minds on the same course moving the same direction.  Two minds may cause a certain hesitancy in our lives, always wondering what must I do next, how can I please the other.   Hesitancy may give our enemy, the devil, more time than we should to create confusion in our lives or the lives of our family.

 “For truly, let not such a person imagine that he will receive anything {he asks} from the Lord, {For being as he is} a man of two minds – hesitating, dubious, irresolute – {he is} unstable and unreliable and uncertain about everything (he thinks, feels, decides).   (James 1:7-8 Amplified Bible)

 The Amplified Bible is particularly good here. It states that a person with two minds hesitates, is dubious and irresolute. The word dubious means dishonest or suspect, irresolute means indecisive. A person who can’t seem to settle things in his mind is unstable and unreliable. In the gospel of Luke 8:22 there is a wonderful story that will help us here. Jesus said, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” They got in the ship and set out. Jesus went to sleep and a storm came and the boat was filling with water. They woke Him up and said, Master we perish. I have noticed in life, there are times when Jesus just doesn’t seem to be doing anything. Don’t be fooled, He may be asleep; however, His word is filled with enough power to accomplish exactly what He said. His word will take you to the other side, no matter how bad the storm might be. Notice what happens when they thought Jesus was asleep. Fear came in and their perception of the circumstances that surrounded them was not what it should have been. They were frightened and despairing of life. The enemy of our souls will try to convince us that God does not care or that there is something wrong with us. If that is so and there is something between you and God, take heart. He said if you ask of Him forgiveness He is faithful to forgive and restore you. He will get you on the right track.

 When Jesus is in your boat and says go to the other side, you will get to the other side, whatever the other side is. Let me go further, He may have been asleep, however, His Word was still working.  His plan was still in the process, He had a purpose and may I say – you may not think that God is doing anything, but God is at work.  He has a plan for your life. He has a purpose that you will only understand after you get there. He is processing His will through your life in a way that will bring glory to the kingdom of God.

 A side thought is the fact that He did calm the storm and the raging water.  When life gets to be more than you think you can handle He is there to make sense out of life.

 Pastor Danny

Jonah in the belly of the fish, without hope, in a prison of his own making, said I will not forsake my own mercy, I will give praise to the Lord.  Noah when there was not a flood in sight, believed God and built an ark, that would ultimately save his family and all who would believe. The walls of Jericho, made of earth and stone had never fallen from the blast of a ram’s horn. Yet when God’s people believed and put their trust in the Word of the Lord, they moved into a realm of God’s miracle power and down the walls came.

John said, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us: and if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him." (John 5: 14-15) If we know He hears us we know that we have what ever we ask of Him. Do you believe that He hears you when you pray? Do you believe that He is able to work impossible things in your life?

Jesus said, when you pray, believe you receive. The word receive means to seize or to lay hold of something, so lay-hold of those things which you have desired and asked in prayer. Hold on to those things that God has put in your heart, whether it be an ark that you have never seen, walls that are so high and so large that you see no way in or around, prison bars every bit as real as Jonah’s, yet our God can and will deliver all who will believe and receive from His mighty hand.

Pastor Danny Borrell

The twenty sixth chapter of Genesis the Bible tells a story of two men and their very different responses to what we will call, the Promised Land. Abraham experienced a famine in the early days of his life after having come to Canaan or the Promised Land. Abraham’s response to the famine was loading up the car, with all Sarah’s suitcases and heading for Egypt. Isaac had a completely different response to the circumstances. God said, “Don’t you go to Egypt, live in the land which I will tell you.” In verses three and four of chapter twenty six, God says, “Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendents I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham, your Father. And I will make your descendents multiply as the stars of the heaven; I will give you your descendents all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.” Thus God passes on to Isaac the blessing of his father. Don’t be fooled, God is true to His promises, what He says; He will bring it to pass. (Genesis 26:1-5)

Let’s bring this up to date, I think everyone would agree that our nation is in a mess. It is as though there is a famine in the land and the enemy wants to grind us to powder. If the story of Isaac tells us anything, it is this; God’s promise will never be thwarted or diminished because of a famine, because of men’s greed or because of political schemes. Remember this, Isaac stayed and sowed in an environment of famine and lack when there was no promise of a harvest. Isaac sowed, he sowed when the economy was in total devastation and with lack all around him, and Isaac became so prosperous that he was envied by the Philistines. He harvested a hundred fold in a time of economic crisis. “Then Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundred fold; and the Lord blessed him”. (Genesis 26:12) A hundred fold return means that he made up what was lost in a three year period and God is able to redeem you in your faithfulness.

In the history of our nation we never hear of the positive side of the great depression. What you never hear is the part about the millionaires created during that time. There is no more or no less money or wealth on the earth today than there was last year. It is just in different places. The difference between Israel and other people was a covenant with God. Read Genesis 15:18.

The second thing I noticed about Isaac is that he did not abandon the principle of sowing and reaping. With poverty all around Him, he became exceedingly rich. The economic climate of his day did not effect his determination to sow for a harvest. Isaac continued to take the faith way. He refused to focus on the problems and in doing so he walked right into the blessings of God. He was so blessed the even his enemies were afraid of him. It is so important to keep our focus on Jesus, upon the Word of God and refuse to be moved.

I heard someone say the other day; there are some people who have everything. Not me,  I don’t have.  I don’t have a care and I don’t want one. Phil 4:6 says, be anxious about nothing. There are two different kinds of care one is marrimna, the kind we cast upon Him and – mello, the care He has for us.

Listen to the words- affliction, aggravation, alarm, anguish, distress, encumbrance, fear, handicap, hindrance, hardship, oppression, pressure, sorrow, stew, strain, stress, sweat, tribulation, trouble, unhappiness, vexation, woe and worry. We cannot live with that kind of care. Cast that kind of care on Jesus. He knows exactly what to do with it. That kind of care will choke the Word and cause it to be unfruitful in your life.  So cast your care on Jesus. I think this year we need to go back to the depression for a lesson in economics. During the worst days of our nation’s history, there were men and women who were sowing and reaping a marvelous harvest. There are those who are hesitant to sow to their future, however, if you will allow the Holy Spirit to lead you in your giving, some of you will come out of this time, successful business men and women and some  will be elevated in places of employment far beyond expectations. I believe the Church will gain an entrepreneurial spirit that will change future generations as Isaac changed the generations that followed him. Expect good things this year!

Pastor Danny

“Casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for You.” (New American Standard Bible) (1^st Peter 5:7)

God is more interested in love between the members of His family than in the infallibility of one’s opinions. Paul said; “don’t criticize or critique each other anymore.” (Romans 14:13 Living Bible) We must come to the decision at some point in our lives not to put any obstacle or stumbling block in the pathway of a brother or sister. In other words it is time to grow up.

Unjust and sometimes unloving criticism has been a characteristic sin of the saints of God in our day.  As people of God, let’s not be caught in that trap.  Remember the command from Jesus’ lips: “do not judge, for with what judgment you judge, you will be judged.” (Matthew 7:1-2) Let Jesus, the Lord of the church bring freedom by His Word from making judgments so easily and resolve not to put a stumbling block or cause a brother to fall, we will begin to see growth in our lives and relationships, in doing so, the Lord enables us to live in the fullness of His Spirit in a forgiving way!

Lovingly,

Pastor Danny

“A VOICE WAS HEARD IN HEAVEN, THE ACCUSER OF THE BRETHREN IS CAST DOWN.” (Rev. 12:10-11)

The next verse explains how these saints overcame. First, their robes were washed in the blood of the Lamb and made white.  Second, they held to the Word of God and stuck to their testimony of Jesus.

They were committed to the blood of Jesus, the Word of God, and their testimony.  We too must be committed to the blood of Jesus Christ, we are washed, cleansed and made righteous by his blood. Our commitment to the Word of God brings the power of God into play, to regenerate and empower believers today. By His Word we are purified and made whole. Our lives, like theirs must be His, not ours.Therein lies the formula for casting down that old liar, satan, and bring about an overcoming lifestyle.

Pastor Danny