God wants to rebuild the broken places in our lives. He has a plan and is willing to reveal it to us one day at a time. The key is to trust Him with the timing and method of the process. He will not do things we think they need to be done. He will lead us in what seems like detours, in reality they are excursions to handle things that we are not even aware need attention. Follow the instructions that you have at the moment. Learn to live in His peace by keeping your mind on Him not the outcome of the process you are living day to day. The most fulfilling place to be is doing what He wants you to do, at the time He wants you doing it. If we are willing to walk in His plan we will finally find the hope, faith and love that we have thought impossible to accomplish. Saddle up, give him the reins of your future. You are in for the time of your life!

I hope you are already thinking about church tomorrow (I am writing this on Saturday AM). The Body of Christ has become guilty of putting "attending church" on Sundays in the "optional" category. In other words, if nothing better or more appealing is on the calendar (and of coarse the weather is not too bad - if the weather is too good this also competes with the decision of "do we go to church or not"). Gathering together with your brothers and sisters in Christ is commanded in Hebrews 10:24-25 because church should not just be about "what we get out of it" but "what we put into it". Believers should prepare to attend church with at least as much devotion as they spend getting themselves dressed and made up. Please show your love for Jesus Christ by "keeping His commandments" (John 14:21) and being a servant to those around you. You cannot serve people you do not see. I understand you should be serving outside the church walls on a daily basis but you should also serve inside the walls as the body gathers together on a weekly basis. Pray about each service. Ask the Lord what you should be doing to make the services more uplifting, enlightening and doctrinally sound. This begins by us all being in the services!

I Thessalonians 5 says "do not grieve the Holy Spirit". Another way of saying this is "do not throw cold water on what the Holy Spirit is calling you to do". Following His guidance always requires faith and is seldom, if ever "what you feel like doing". We miss many of the "miracles" God wants us to be involved in because we are afraid to follow the little urges and ideas that come to our minds. Hebrews 5 says we learn to obey His voice by having our senses trained. In other words, we need to be willing to make mistakes. When we make mistakes, we can ask the Lord to forgive us and at times He can remove the effect of the mistakes. Other times, He allows the mistakes to teach us and others we will not "ruin everything" by making a mistake and lastly, others see we do make mistakes just like everyone else does. No one likes making mistakes but it can remove some pressure when we realize that God can make mistakes turn into ministry if we get our eyes off of our mistakes and on His mercy!

Philippians 1:6 says "being confident of this very thing that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day you see Jesus face to face". It is God's job to change us. Too many of us are telling Him what to change and when to change it. He knows the motives of our heart; the fact that He works on parts of us that we don't think needs the work and that He doesn't work on what we do think needs attention shows how much in charge we want to be. He purchased us with His death on the cross and since we are "His property" we should allow Him to do with us what He wants, when He wants. The most comfortable place you can ever be is under His guidance and in His timing. It may not feel good to your flesh but your flesh should not have a part in your life. it has been crucified with Christ when you became a Christian. Jesus Christ is Lord of the Christian's life so He gets to decide when He wants to change parts of you. Let Him do His job changing you and you will find that He is a Master at His job!

Wait! Just hearing that word disturbs us. We do not like waiting for anything but the Word of God says waiting has positive benefits. One of these is we gain strength, spiritual ability to use in the issues we are dealing with on a daily basis. Waiting allows us to turn our hearts to the Lord for the direction He is giving us. Waiting can cause our flesh to submit to our spirit, if we use the time of waiting properly. Times and seasons are in the hands of the Lord. When we truly believe that and stop relying on our feelings to give us the directions we need we will live more fruitful and peaceful lives. Waiting may seem like punishment but like many of the lessons the Lord is teaching us, it can be just the opposite. Decide to wait on the Lord and allow His promise to you, to build your strength to work so when you get the "green light" to proceed you will have the courage and the wisdom needed to accomplish the task before you.

"A harsh word stirs up anger but a gentle answer turns away wrath". Proverbs 15:1 In Genesis 11 the people of the earth were building a tower and God said because the people are in "one accord" nothing will be impossible for them. He confused the languages and the people were scattered all over the region because there was no unity. In the books of Acts, the disciples were in "one accord" after Jesus went to heaven. Unity or "one accord" is a most amazing principle. Strive to maintain the unity of the faith, Paul says in Ephesians. Unity is an amazing power; the enemy is constantly throwing confusion and disharmony into our lives. Don't fall for the trap. Being right is not always worth the battle. If something is "not a big deal" let it slide. You cannot let everything go without correction and maybe even a serious conversation but everything does not have to be agreed on. Don't "have to be right" about everything. Allow others their opinions without a challenge. Different denominations and political perspectives can be a healthy thing. Proverbs says "iron sharpens iron as one man sharpens another" which means there will be times when sparks fly but if you want people to enjoy being around you allow them to express their opinions freely without your criticisms. Strive to maintain unity even if it means keeping your opinions to yourself!

II Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slow concerning His promises, as some look at timing, but is extremely patient to us, not willing that any die without knowledge of Him, but that all will get saved." Never allow your natural mind to make a judgement about God's faithfulness or His timing about things you care about. We are extremely limited in understanding of the future and what effect our "wants" have on everyone else's life. If we will trust Him to make the right decision at the right time, praying that the enemy cannot interrupt God's plan, we will not only see God answer our prayers but why He answered them and when He answered them. Children always want to have their requests answered immediately but we all know many times what they are asking for is not good for them or not good for them "now". Grow up into Christ and allow Him to do His will without hearing complaints from you about His integrity or His timing!!