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Celebrating 100 Messages! More New Stuff, And Stuff That’s New :)

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I am happy to announce that I just finished editing my 100th message last night! When I first started working in the audio editing of messages it proved to be difficult as I had never worked on editing just speaking/preaching before. What did I conclude overall? That I’m long-winded (just kidding lol)! Seriously speaking however, I can only conclude that I am so thankful for the body of people that support me in my ministry and at our local church.

If you have ever been to our messages page, you know that there is the ability to organize by series. Having this many messages and them categorized by series got me to thinking, “Why not instead of just cds of preaching that we begin to offer DVDs of messages by series?” With this special idea at hand, it inspired me to get it in the works! You will soon have the ability to acquire the Heart of Grace DVD video testimonials as well as messages by series. We are also happy to announce that with the expansion of our music and message ministry is creating a higher demand for music and speaking. I’m very VERY excited to announce that we will finally be offering messages and books in our upcoming merchandise section!

Stay tuned for what God has in store, it’s gonna be great! God Bless You ~ Jared

 

How Much More?

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As we look more intently at the cross, the tomb, the resurrection, and the ascension at this time of the year, let us consider what immeasurable love and grace we have been given. Let us begin to meditate on “how much more” has been granted to us by the blood of Christ.  Being born of the flesh, we are of a sinful nature. Descending from the first man, Adam, we have sin, and thus death pronounced upon us from the moment that we have knowledge of good and evil. God, as our Creator and Loving Father, wanted us to be restored to that blessed state of fellowship that He created us to have with HIm. So, God gave His law unto us, but we being weak in the flesh did not keep that law. Under the law, atonement had to be made for our transgressions against God when His law was broken. This atonement was in the form of animal sacrifices that was offered to God.

The blood of the sacrificial animals offered by the Levitical priesthood that God had ordained covered the peoples’ sins, but only for a season. The high priest would enter into the Holiest of Holies once a year to offer sacrifice for the people’s sins. The blood of the bulls, goats, and heifers was sprinkled upon the people, sanctifying and purifying the flesh for another year. It was with the blood of the animals with which the high priest entered into the holy place, not with his own blood. Only the flesh was purified, not the soul of man. No mention is made of purification for the soul or for any atoning that was eternal, that would last for “good”.

However, when Christ came, everything was changed.  Everything was made new. Christ entered into that Holy Place, into the very presence of His Father, with his own blood and offered himself, a sacrifice without spot or blemish! Unlike the high priest, it took only one trip for the Lamb of God! How much more? How much more was Christ’s sacrifice sufficient to atone for our sins? Jesus’ blood Purifies, Sanctifies, and Seals the soul of a man eternally. That is just a minute description of “how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” It is so much more that it can take us, the vilest sinners, wash us clean, give us a new heart and mind, and lead us with His Holy Ghost into a life of peace and joy that will never end.

When Jesus died on Calvary’s cross, the veil in the temple that separated man from the Holy Place was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. God, by accepting the complete and perfect sacrifice of His Son, opened up His throne room to “whosoever will”. When we accept Jesus Christ as our atonement, we enter into the Holiest of Holies, into the very presence of God. God makes a person who believes and accepts the blood of His Son as the atonement for their sins as a priest- a priest who has access to God’s presence, His mercy and grace.

Jesus, our great High Priest, passed into the heavens and has become our mediator to the Father. We do not have a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

As God’s redeemed, we will never have to worry about bringing a bull or goat to offer for our sins. Jesus was God’s lamb that He gave so that we could have life and have it more abundantly.  Jesus’ blood is the only cure for man’s sin-sick soul. All He asks is that we offer Him our heart, our love, and devotion. He wants to take a life that is empty and hopeless without Him, and give that soul eternal joy, peace, and fellowship in His Holy Presence.

Resolutions, Resolutions, Resolutions

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I want to start out today by reading some difficult but inspiring verses to everyone.

James 1:2-4

[2] My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;

[3] Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
[4] But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

We have to begin to transform our lives in this year with what will seem like 2 brand new steps. I’m also going to tell you that this might not be your favorite thing that you ever hear me tell you, but nonetheless we’ll speak what God would lead us to.

The first thing that we HAVE to do is to stop complaining every second that we have breath to the Lord as well as everyone else. We have to begin to realize that there will always be someone else out there that has it worse, and that our situation is not the worst in the world. I’m not being horrible and saying that you don’t have dark days, but the scriptures lead us to handle things differently. They lead us to count it all joy. I know that it seems impossible to do, but you know how we count something joy even when it hurts? As we begin to count our blessings and begin to use the other tools that God gave us to bring us to a good place, we will find stability as we journey on towards the end of a trial!

The second thing that we have to do is let faith work. How do we do that? Well, first of all by not running away when things get too hard. We cannot back down or give up in the middle of something. That is how God builds up something good in us. It’s one of the ways he can get glory and you can overcome the enemy! If you stay grounded in God, desiring nothing but his will, and let that patience through your faith have its work, you will have an experience to speak of from the ends of your trials that you will have learned from! And always remember, when it comes to the trials of God, you are never tested in something for you not to learn anything from it.

Let’s read on some more now:

James 1:12

[12] Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

Blessed is he who endures!  There is a reward for us who hang on! I have always said since I began the ministry that there is a special quality about endurance. You have to have it regardless of the condition of your body. Endurance is in the mind. For that is why we inherit the crown of life for our head and not our body.

Let’s read on:

James 1:22-25

[22] But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
[23] For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
[24] For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
[25] But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

I don’t know about you, but this sounds like all the promises and resolutions we always break! What I do know is that my false promises are a direct rebellion against his atonement! That’s a serious thing!!!

When I begin to say things like:

“I will walk right if you help me”

or

“I will purify me if you answer my prayer.”

We have to realize that we are human and that we are always going to come short, but if I surrender myself, all my rights and demands, and justifications and finally leave myself in his hands, and then through my humble prayers he can do a work in me!

The last part I want to read to you today is what I like to call the dedicated verses of my life. If you don’t have any, put these in your heart as well!

Philippians 3:13-16

[13] Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
[14] I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
[15] Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
[16] Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.

I can’t do anything for what is behind me in the yesterday.  But God is the God of the yesterdays and allows the things of the past to help us spiritually grow today.

I know more than anyone that I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but the Lord will go before us!  He is in what we are not aware of!

And I certainly know that with all that is in me that as far today, I’m going to press, strive, and break through for that peace and joy that I know will keep me.

God Bless You!

Something New: After the Fact!

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I thought about something the other day. People that are starting out in their ministries always tell me they have a hard time getting in, reading, and really feeling like they have a greater understanding of what they feel like they are taking in. I totally know what you mean, and in light of this have came up with a new concept.

I’m going to start doing something called After The Fact, which in essence is some of the thoughts, notes, and inspiration that I have wrote down and have taken in while I’m putting together what I feel like God has given me to give to others. And more than that, there is always a couple points that you wish you could have brought out that you didn’t get to because of time or circumstances. So here we go!

So with some of the messages that are on here under the live section, I’ll post the link to the audio within the text! I will also be posting these texts as pdf files next to the live ones where available. I hope you enjoy! Feel free to comment and leave feedback.

Being Environmentally Friendly

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Many life lessons are overlooked because we really are not aware of what is actually taking place. We do not even realize at the time of a transition, that many of the surroundings and beings around us have more of a part to play then we think. It’s just like some phrases I’ve always heard in my life.

Some of them sound like “you don’t appreciate someone until they’re gone and it’s too late” or “i never would have thought this would have caused all this trouble”
or even “i wish i could go back and do that all over again”. The thing is, it is so easy to get comfortable with your surroundings, and just live with it.

We have people out there “going green” and trying to improve the overall environment as a whole, and I truly admire those efforts. They won’t settle for people junking up the earth, and make a conscious effort by their every day actions to show they want a better and healthier world around them to live in.

If we take a moment to look around in our own individual environments, it would not take very long to see things that are junk, that do nothing but to bring suffering to our lives.

It might be something you are dealing with at home, at work, or just going down the road. It might be addictions, attitudes, personality traits, anything that would lead you to be less then what you are capable of being. It might something part of your every day routine, or something secret that you battle with that no one knows about it. It might be family, friends, acquaintances, or even your own defined adversaries that lead you to have a great number of different kinds of influences that would hinder you.

The thing is, we live in a world where we serve a God that sees everything we do, everything we speak, and everything we think. He knows your vices, and the buttons that could be pushed to tempt you to fall out of the will of him. I want to use some scriptures to try and bring out a central point: We need to be aware of our environments and clean up all the junk that would be polluting our own lives.

John.15

[1] I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
[2] Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
[3] Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
[4] Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
[5] I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
[6] If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
[7] If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
[8] Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
[9] As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
[10] If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
[11] These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
[12] This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
[13] Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
[14] Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
[15] Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
[16] Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
[17] These things I command you, that ye love one another.
[18] If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
[19] If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
[20] Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
[21] But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.
[22] If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.
[23] He that hateth me hateth my Father also.
[24] If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.
[25] But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.
[26] But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
[27] And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.

Don’t let all the junk around you corrupt your life from bearing the good fruit. Even if you literally have to get rid of things, get rid of habits, lose some friends that are bad influences, or anything that would hinder you from being as fruitful as you can possibly be, is well worth it. Cleansing your life from the things that would hinder you only brings you closer to God, which only unlocks even more blessings coming your way. I hope this speaks to you like it did to me.

The Message Of Haggai

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Haggai “was a man of one paramount idea — build the Temple!” (Homer Hailey).

His primary focus and heart’s desire was to see the temple restored, as well as the worship of God to return. I thought about this so much when I was going over this small set of verses. There are so many parts we read of about broken temples in the bible, and when I read those, I think of MY temple; not the one which was built by hand, but the one that my soul lives in.

I begin to think about how that as we come to God and we are saved, he cleans up and wipes away our sins and we are forgiven, which is wonderful and without it, where would we be? Let’s take this further though. Think about how each and every day that we walk around our houses and see all of these things that need to be taken care of outside, and yet with our lack of energy and willpower, those things continually get put off time after time until the effects of the neglect begin to show in a way that we can see.

With my spiritual temple, it’s all in the same. I walk around each and every day of my life with the power and ability to clean up my own little messes in prayer, and yet with no willpower do nothing. I know that sometimes it’s hard to find that motivation to get up off of our couch and get to work on cleaning house, but it’s double the difficulty when you begin to talk about what dwells inside the hearts of you and I. The pains and sufferings that we face are by no means easy, and it takes a lot of work and upkeep to prevail on the maintenance of that, and yet, we continue to neglect. So wherein lies that motivation when we cannot find it? To me, I have found that we can encourage ourselves, yes. I can get down in prayer and get a hold of God to the point where it feels like that angels are all around me. It’s wonderful. But when your life is to the point where you can’t get the first word out, what then?

A lot of Christians today are standing there in their non-spiritual perspectives, looking at their ruined spiritual temple, and just walking away from it.

Let’s read some now.

Haggai 1:4-8

[4] Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste?
[5] Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.
[6] Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.
[7] Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.
[8] Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD.

The people had become discouraged, and as a result of that, forgetful and neglectful of God. And truthfully, this behavior is quite common with the people of today; nothing has really changed with that. Their priorities were skewed; they were only considering themselves and not God in the grand scheme, building their own houses, and not His. People are out in the world trying to just take care of themselves and be of no help to others. But when we reach that point of no return in our discouragement, it takes that lending loving hand of a neighbor to lift us up. You see, the message of Haggai was very well received and effective.

And wouldn’t you know that one of the reasons that it was effective was Haggai’s dependency on the Word of God! Man, if we can but only grasp this. We can pick ourselves up sometimes, but it takes more than one person to build a house, let alone repair a broken one. Being able to depend on each other more will allow the body of Christ to grow more and more, and our inner spiritual temples will flourish along with the Temple of the church.

A lot of people might cringe at this idea, and that’s okay, but sometimes I sit in the most elaborate beautiful churches that I can see with my eyes and yet see the spiritual discernment in ruin. People need help. They need led, and they need the truth. I have came short so many times in my life, but what I do know that the only thing that has got be back on the path for God was the word of truth.

Haggai appeals to God as his authority over 26 times in the course of 38 verses! Let’s read some more:

Haggai 2:7-9, 17-19

[7] And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.
[8] The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts.
[9] The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.

[17] I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labours of your hands; yet ye turned not to me, saith the LORD.
[18] Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the LORD’s temple was laid, consider it.
[19] Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you.

Haggai was teaching that faithfulness and material blessings are directly connected, and that when a good work is awaiting its accomplishment, the time to do is now. Discouragement, however profound, is not an adequate reason for neglecting duties, even when they seem to be encompassed with difficulty. So just remember to build yourself up with the foundation of God, and you will not be moved by every little thing that comes by. And more than that, the spiritual temple that you begin to build within will be less about you and more about God. And as that begins to happen, you will see a wonderful transition in your life take place!

Don’t Be Afraid Of The Wind

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Every single day, whether you be near or far in the world, we are all faced with hardships. And when these hardships have something to do with an object or person that is of worth to you, and something or someone else comes against it in some way, the experience that you deal with to go through it is what I like to call a trial. The size of the trial can vary, as well as what the trial involves. It could be something that affects your health, your finances, your family, your friends, so long as it is personal, it matters to you and your life.

When it comes to trials that are to do with our personal lives, we’ll do just about anything to make sure there is a good outcome. I have found that without being aware, more often than we would like to admit, that we completely leave our faith out of our trials all together. And in most of the cases, I have found from personal experience that doubt was ever present.

I want to bring a scripture into all of this before I go any further:

Matthew 14:22-33

[22] And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.
[23] And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.
[24] But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.
[25] And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
[26] And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
[27] But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
[28] And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
[29] And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
[30] But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
[31] And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
[32] And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.
[33] Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.

So many times, we have the opportunity to remind ourselves every day through prayer and the word of God that we serve that Savior that “is I”, who will catch us when we sink. Instead, we act as the disciples most of the time, leaving our faith on the boat, complaining, being in a troubled spirit, not believing, and doubting most of all.

There is even a good portion of us who won’t even get out of the boat when that voice is bidding us to step out on the calling on our life. We doubt what we have inside of us, constantly questioning, and yet it was the one, “it is I”, who put the gift in there to begin with, remember?

There is a few out there, who will actually step out into the waters of the spirit, and get out there and begin to start working in their gifts, and as the winds around them begin to push them around, with the winds as a metaphor to the trials that they face as a worker in the church today, most of the time the only thing we can say is “LORD SAVE ME!”. And you know what? That’s totally okay!

I want us all to start getting out of that boat, with the boat standing for fear of being obedient to what God would have called in your life to do, and start stepping out there, for the scripture put it best:

“O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”

The most important part of all of this is that at the end of the day, the God that we serve will make the winds cease, and bring peace to the waves that crash all around you. In other words, those trials that we deal with would not be near as bad if we step out with more faith and less doubt. Believe that when you step out to face all the hardships in your life that Jesus is at the end of the trial waiting, and that victory is that the end, and if you should feel yourself begin to sink, he WILL catch you, for the Bible says he will never leave nor forsake you! God Bless You All!

Being Established

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Some start to return to the true fellowship God has ordained for His people, but some have a hard time getting free of what they have experienced, but not all do get out.

There are all kinds of people that are out there:

1. Those who are so involved, they are absorbed into it to the point where their “faith” will never be shaken

2. Those who leave because they have been hurt or damaged and consider true Christianity a farce and leave it altogether

3. Those who come out of it immediately because the light of God’s word and conviction by the Holy Spirit is so clear

4. Those that will come out of it, but struggle to get rid of the oppression and experiences and feelings

Am I Established In The Right?

Many believers who have stepped onto the road of deception have all had thoughts or doubts about what they were doing, having thoughts like “Something seems wrong” or “I am not sure“.

1 John 1:5-7

5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

What is around me? Is it something of God?

It may have looked like light, but it was darkness. It may have looked like truth, but it was a lie. It may have looked like God and His workings, but it wasn’t. It was darkness, and Jesus said,

Matthew 6:23

23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

Why can’t I let things just stay this way?

This is an important area of repentance and a turning to the word of God.

2 Corinthians 6:14-17

14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you

Where do I go from here? What do I do?

His forgiveness is readily available. It is the heart of the individual that limits to what extent God can work to fully restore them. God wants to ESTABLISH you again in His truth and He has the total power to do so if you will return to the faith you once followed:

God desires to establish you again according to His gospel through your obedience:

Romans 16:25-26

25 Now to him that is of power to STABLISH YOU ACCORDING TO my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:

God wants to establish you in holiness by ridding you of the deceptions:

1 Thessalonians 3:13

13 To the end HE MAY STABLISH YOUR HEARTS UNBLAMEABLE IN HOLINESS before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.

God wants to establish you in good works once again and deliver you:

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

16 Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,
17 Comfort your hearts, and STABLISH YOU IN EVERY GOOD WORD AND WORK.

The Lord will establish you and deliver you from those who have not faith around you:

2 Thessalonians 3:1-4

1 Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you:
2 And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith.
3 But the Lord is faithful, WHO SHALL STABLISH YOU, and keep you from evil.
4 And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things which we command you.

Come Without Cost

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Matthew 26:56

[56] But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.

John 7:5

[5] For neither did his brethren believe in him.

John 1:10-11

[10] He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
[11] He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

One of the worst emotions and experiences that anyone can face is rejection. Rejecting is simply defined as someone “refusing to accept”. We all face is in our everyday lives. And to me, it’s one of the worst things that we will ever deal with. Why is it that way? I think it is because each and every one of us want to win the approval of everyone around us. We want everyone to be pleased with us. The sad fact though is that we will never win that battle, and yet spend our lives trying to win it.

As we go through some verses as shown above, there were different instances in the scriptures where Christ was rejected by his friends, kindred, nation, and even the world. And as it was indicated in the last moments in his life, Rejection was one of the main factors that led to Christ’s death. People did not want to accept him as he was being the son of God. People were content then with what they thought was acceptable, therefore rejecting the concept of Christ bringing new life to the world. Despite rejection, Christ still promised us: the holy spirit, to answer our prayer, to draw all men unto him, to receive all who come, to give rest, to confess us before the father, and MOST importantly, to come again! All of this within itself should be enough for me to be able to face a little rejection from others in my life.

You might be reading this and saying to yourself, “I am constantly rejected. No one will accept me for who I am”. I was in that very position. Let me remind you of a scripture.

John 6:37

[37] All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

Reading this was SUCH a blessing to me. I then realized a lot of things at that point. Regardless of mistakes, success, popularity, possessions, how much you hate how bad things are, hopelessness, desperation, YOU ARE NOT REJECTED!!!

We all have a place with God. God is the only presence in this world that you can come to without facing rejection. I’m reminded of a verse:

Isaiah 55:1

[1] Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

To me there are two things that stand out:

Without money = without possessions

Without price = without cost

I know this seems way out there, but stay with me. How can you buy anything without money or price. If it has no price, there is no need for money. You see Jesus paid this cost so that we could come without it. If you are living life with a broken heart from all the rejection, you are not alone! You can come without cost and find peace in your life once and for all. I felt really led to go ahead and write this today for anyone facing rejection like I did in my childhood years and sometimes even now.

Await With Eagerness

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Isaiah 40:29-31

[29] He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
[30] Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
[31] But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Lately we have been trying to tackle topics of worrying, rejection, patience, and forgiveness. And in thought of all of those things that we have discuss, there is one thing that stands out that shares something with each and every one of those things: Waiting. It’s one of the things that we either love or hate to do, and sometimes is inevitable. Whether you are excited about getting your birthday present, or if you are waiting to hear if someone made it out of surgery fine, waiting is a constant in both aspects of life. It’s that span of time where you lose being in complete control while you are expecting an outcome. There are so many emotions that run around in your mind while you are in this period of time. And generally, by our own nature, we will try to bet on the outcome based on what we can see and what we know. And for those that live their lives without trusting the Lord, this can be a serious burden to bear.

So how can God help me out with waiting? What can God do to allow this burden in my life to be easier? Well, if we tried to take our own approach without God involved, the popular opinion would tell you to take the route of “buy it now” and settle for what is in front of you. You might be waiting on a direction for your life, a person to call your significant other, seeing someone saved, or many other possible situations. It always seems easier to follow where your own self would think you need to go, but with a little suffering through waiting, God will come to your rescue! Don’t just take the first thing that comes just because you are tired of waiting. Let God be your guide!

Let’s bring some scripture into this. As above in Isaiah, it says that those who wait will have their strength renewed. You won’t grow tired and slow down and be discouraged. Think about the walls of Jehrico, Paul and Silas in jail, Joseph lying in prison for years, all of which in their actions had go on about their lives and wait; but each of these with the outcome that God had planned for them! Our God is not weak. It might be tough, but we need to wait upon the lord even in the serious matters of your life. Replace your fears with excitement of what God will do, and your frustration with faith that God will do that great thing. Make it a goal to await with eagerness and let God prove himself to you.