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Replacing Old Things With God’s Brand New

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Jared Meredith

I thank God for the many blessings I have been given. There is no doubt that I have been blessed beyond measure, even when one would beg to differ in comparison to worldly possessions. All the great things of the wonderful God that we serve do not always necessarily come as things in monetary value. If you consider this concept with me, you would also know that some of the best gifts that God has given are to replace things that you have lost.

I have lost many possessions, but nothing compared to the day when I came to the truth in my mind and realized that I would lose my soul without a relationship to Christ. God gave me the gift of salvation to replace my hopelessness of feeling so lost and is by far my single greatest possession.

You have to understand something today: the decision to replace it was not hard. The part that proved difficult was dealing with the part of me that was intimidated by what others thought about me. After I realized that beginning to believe in Christ was what I needed, the feelings grew stronger. I had fear, plain and simple. God was wonderful in replacing my fears with confidence. How? Through the work of other children of God, of course!

So this is my simple thought today: we must allow God to be the strength in our weakness, regardless of what it is. You could be in bondage to addiction, or having problems at home or at work; however I assure you that there is nothing too hard for God. Simply believe and submit to the call that He places in your life and do not fear. Be established and help others in their time of need!

Send A Message: We Miss You

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Jared Meredith

I want to write a message today that reaches out to many that might think that they are so often missed. This one is for you.

There have been many times in my life where I was looking for others to encourage me and it was not there. Either I was looking for advice or some kind of positive outreach to give me that breath of life that lets you know you still exist. I couldn’t tell you how many times, especially in the earlier years of my youth, that I longed to feel like there was someone that was truly there. No matter how old you are today, people continually still want to fill this void in their life; and over time we find some way to occupy it with persons, objects, or by some kind of abstract thinking to just “get us by”.

The fact of the matter is that people are living in depression each and every day and are finding better ways to mask what they feel inside. People long to feel like they have someone that loves them, cares about them. We as Christians DO know of something that we could give unto others that could help them begin to live, but yet, we get weary from fears and worries of rejection. I once had these same struggles, and believe me, living in this for too long will lead you down the wrong road.

So let me get real and stress this clearly and with joy! I’m glad people were not afraid to lead me to a better life. I’m glad I got out of the lifestyle that I was living in. I’m glad that I finally found happiness. I’m glad that I finally got saved through Jesus Christ! I’m glad that I got filled with His spirit to the greatest abundance! I feel like I can finally see the light in the midst of all the darkness that we live in! Praise God! I’m free today!

I want to remind us all to reach out to people that are in need to say that we miss them being at church, miss them being in our lives, and that when they are in need that there is a solution, Jesus Christ!

One Foot In Front Of The Other

Posted on March 21, 2011 by Jared Meredith

2 John 1:6 – And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.

3 John 1:3-4 – For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

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I know sometimes it feels like it is going to take “forever” to ever see the great big move that we stand in need of. I am learning, however, that with each new day that there are great big moves that God wants us to make in kind. We cannot have it all without changing a great lot in turn. God requires us to “move up” by the lowering of ourselves before Him. If we are willing we must begin to live closely to God by raising our standards of Godly living, by increasing the amount of daily/weekly obedience inside/outside of church, and most of all by not letting our daily bread (faith) be cut down with our own doubts and fears.

When you talk about the correlation of obedience and discouragement from waiting on the great things, we often live in a loop of “I can do it, but do not want to” or “I am incapable therefore I will sit back and stop”. God does not want us to be in either of those states; frankly He does not accept it. If we read into our bibles in detail, this fits the profile of what we would like to call lukewarm.

So what do we say today? Declare to your mind, to yourself, and to others that you are going to see it come! Start building your faith now and see what great victory you build out in your future! I send out a word of encouragement to you out there that is down and out and feel like there is no hope to live by: just keep one foot in front of the other one and let God lead you, and you will find your victory!

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Put Into Practice:

I am not sure if this has been done before, but I hope that it proves to be just as effective as it has been for me before. I would like for you to start your “faith chain” today. All you need is a pack of sticky notes or some cut-up paper and some tape. You can spread this out to work on every day or you can work on building it all at once. It’s up to you.

First, start out with a small thing you having faith in God for. Once you think of it, write what your statement of faith should be and make sure to include that need. For example, a good one would be “I believe that God is going to make me to be a happy person today.” Once you have one or a few (I would say about 5-7 at a time), stand before it and recite it to yourself every morning in a commonplace right before you head out before your day. As you see one completed, keep it as a future statement of victory! It’s a great way to believe! I encourage you to give it a try!