TJHANKS

to know that God will exhalt us... is to hold on to His promises. Jesus, our Blessed Hope, will come for His redeemed. We get impatient because we are of flesh. Even though we are to "walk in the Spirit"..we have fleshy moments. Our flesh is constantly at war with the Spirit. It's our flesh that is at "enmity" with God. Humbleness is all about our surrender to His will. Meekness is the Christian POWER SOURCE! Whenwe don't submit we begin to think. It becomes, "God says, but I think". That is when we get in trouble. Our carnal minds don't want to be humble..it is against human nature. That is why we are to be of the Spirit, where there is no condemnation (Romans 8:1)

Jesus claimed not onlt to be Son of God, but Son of Man. He didn't sin, but was in the form of a sinner (man). These verses reveal the power of God's love. He humbled Himself and became a servant...FOR US! To me Jesus had to be human as wellas divine. To live a sinless life, He must have had the propensity to sin. Just to come down here with never the possibility to sin wouldn't be a true sacrifice, it would have been a show. He was tempted in all ways, but didn't sin. There would be no hope for us if Christ couldn't haved sin. Jesus is the Captain of our salavation (Heb. 2:10). The word "captain" in greek means trailblazer, one who sets the path for us. "and every spirit that doesn't confess that Jesus Christ has come in the FLESH is not of God. And is the spirit of Anti-Christ..." (1 John 4:3) Jesus was and always be divine, but He was also Son of Man.

To me, it shows that Jesus didn't use His position as part of the Trinity to His advantage. This a temptation none of us can really imagine. He who all things consist in, had power to do anything but chose olnly to do good for others. It's is like the son of a billionare not spending his money, but giving it to those in need. Only one who was truly equal with God, wouldn't consider it "robbery". Those who have exhalted themselves know they are robbing God.

Humility is necessary because otherwise we become self-centered instead of other-centered. The church is not there to promote one above the other it is there to promote Christ and His love and care for all. We are to reflect Christ otherwise we are being self-seeking and no one gains except self when that happens. The body of Christ is just that, a body. Legs just don't help out themselves, legs would be nothing without eyes and feet and arms. The body is to work together. Seeking to help each other out. This is why we are given different spiritual gifts, for the edification of the church not for our own glory. The best example of lack of humility is those who are self-righteous and all churches have that problem. People who believe they have "arrived" they protect their salvation at the cost of others. They don't reach out to those in need out of fear of how the world may perceive them. they see themselves as saved but deep down inside they fear that if any type of mingling with the world may cost their salvation. In actuality they don't trust what is inside them, Jesus, and they don't trust God's protection. The big problem in many churches, including mine is when we take action to do something we are great in talking about it, but when that time comes no one shows up. We promote a "We are family" pledge to the church, but they seem to want to meet once a week. We have changed our service around to fit the needs of the church to promote fellowship time, as a church leader I try to encourage participation with church outtings and take interest in other's plights, it takes patience, we will see in the future. The devil works hard to destroy any unity of the church that would promte Christ.

To know that the next thing i will see when I die is Jesus is of a great comfort! "In a twinkling of an eye!" I always think of 2 Timothy 4:8 "in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award me on that day; and not only me, but also to all who have loved His appearing." (NASB) People often are scared of death, because they think of being buried underground fighting somehow to get out. That is why death is referred to as a "sleep" so often. No time lapse in our minds, we die and our next thought is when we see Jesus. No fear!

Fear prevents us from being a bold witness when we look for the approval of man instead of God. We look to please our friends, family, co-workers and even our church bretheren. We are afraid of offending others, we serve a good God, not a nice God. Turning a blind eye to sin, is not what the Bible tells us to do. We are to stand for truth! We forget what Paul and the Apostles went through. Peter was told over and over not to speak in the name of Christ, but he continued. As Christians we are to live for Christ. That is what this verse is telling us, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." What are your motives for claiming to be of Christ?! The biggest reason anyone fails to be a bold witness is because, they don't know Jesus. They know about Him, but don't know Him or His love. For one who is in a true loving relationship with our Savior, fears no one. "TO LIVE IS CHRIST!", to many "Christians" claim it, but don't live it! For them it is "to live is money" or "to live is career", or "to live is my education", Christ in reality is just a part of their lives, not the Lord of all their lives" Our fear at times is being thought of as a zealot. To many churches are teaching "Come as you are!", and true Jesus said that, but he NEVER said "Stay as you are!". The biggest reason one lacks in being a bold witness for Christ is THE LACK OF A TRULY CONVERTED HEART!

If God is not in control, then who is? Us?! We are the ones who usually get us in a mess! We must believe that God has a plan for us (Jer. 29:11) and that any trial we are in is for our perfecting and His divine purpose. The great comfort I get is knowing that every trial I am in, God has given me the same amount of strength to handle it. The bigger difficulty, the bigger the strength that is given me. That is His promise (1 Cor. 10:13). We must believe He is able. It's one thing to know He is God, it's another to know He is able and it's another to let Him do it and trust Him! For God is love! His word says He will always be there for us. God is good a stronghold in times of trouble, He takes care of those who trust in Him (Nahum 1:7). I love that verse because it's surrounded by trouble when you read the entire chapter. He says He who has begun a good work in you will complete it...(Phil. 1:6)

The true test of our faith is not in how we enjoy or handle our successes, but how we handle our trials. We are to suffer as Christ suffered. We ask for an increased faith, that comes through trials. People knew Paul's past, that he had been a great leader with the Pharissees, and the fact that he was suffering and yet loyal and true to God through Jesus said more than any sermon he could have ever gave. I've have had the loss of my mother this year and two dear friends have moved away and it has been a time of trial, yet I also know that many people know I am a man of faith, watch me carefully to see how I handle it. Granted I could have done better at times, but it's Paul's ministry that encourages me, because he didn't have to be there. He could have been living the "good" life as a Pharisee, he could have wealth and stature, yet he chose to serve God and to be a humble servant. If he would have had made money and fame promoting the gospel, he couldn't have the effect he had on the Roman guards, nor could he have had the faith to endure his time in prison. "Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,..." (1 Peter 4:1) The greatest witness and the greatest sermon anyone can give is the life they live for Christ, we must walk our talk 100% of the time. That is how we lift up the cross and let Him draw people unto Him.

Paul asks for discernment, because he is aware of false teachers around. In many of his other letters Paul is constantly telling his readers to beware of false gospels and teachings. Paul tells his readers that he hopes that their love "...may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment". Paul knows that it is God's desire for us to know His true character. Jesus prayed in John 17:3 "and this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. Discernment will lead us to know God in a more intimate manner, not just to know about Him, but to KNOW HIM! It is our own selfishness that misleads us from knowing God. There are selfish doctrines out there that paint a broad path to salvation. Paul said, " I die daily...", so must we. The cross we take up is not a light one, neither was the one Christ took up. Yet, many Christians would like to "lighten the load of the Cross", allowing for a "permissive Christianity". The "good" is so often what is popular...the greater good is more often than not in contradiction to God's word. In Isaiah 5:20 we are warned when "good is evil and evil is good...". We have teachers and preachers today telling the flocks what they want to hear, not the truth. God wants what is best for us and the only way we can achieve that is by truly knowing Him. For us to know ourselves better we must know God better. The more we truly know God, through His word, we are more able to discern His truth>

First and foremost, God will always finish what He started, He will never leave us out in the wilderness to suffer. We don't serve a God of half-measures. Paul expects this, because He has done it in his own life. Paul has been beatened,stoned and imprisoned, the only way Paul could have continued with the mission God gave him is only through a constant spiritual growth. God never stops working in us, we are just impatient when it comes to His timetable. Paul tells us in Philippians 4:6, " not to be anxious for nothing", we must be patient and know that He is God. There is only on basis that we can expect God to do this for us, FAITH! God told Paul, that "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strenghth is made perfect in weakness." (2 Cor. 12:9) We must believe and live God's promises. He already brought us this far!

When we become financial "partners" with a Christian minsitry, we partake in the eternal reward. The gold is His, the silver is His, all is His, we are just giving back a portion of what is already His. In Malachi 3:10 we are told that he will "...pour out a blessing...", in verse 11 our land will be protected, verse 12 we will be called blessed by all nations. To be a financial "partner" gives us a connection with God and we a partakers of His divine nature which is priceless. We also can and must offer our time and our gifts. The greatest gift we can ever give God is to use the gifts He gave us to glorify Him. Our skills such as carpentry, cooking, and landscaping, to pick a few, are of great service to a church. Opening up your home to a missionary or a traveling evangelist can be of great help. Not everyone has a bunch of money to spare, but we all have some time and other resources to share.

The basic idea of a "slave" is not one who is bonded against his or her will, but who chose to be a slave for Christ. In Old testemant times a slave served their master 7 years, at the end of the 7 years they had a choice to be free or to stay a slave to their master for life. Many slaves had great masters who took care of them. The "doulos" slave is one who chooses their master for life out of love for Him. That is us with Christ we are a slave(doulos) because we love Him and chose to be lovingly obedient to Him. The root idea of "saint" is one who is set apart, not of the world, but separate by Christ. The slave had a choice to go back into the world and be free by worldly standards, but chose to be separate from the world to serve their Master. All "saints" are servants "doulos" for they are separate of the world and willingly choose to serve Jesus. Their works don't save them, for works are a product of salvation and sanctification, not a means to it.

Gideon is missing the fact that God is in charge. Its about His glory, not ours. Gideon is caught up in the circumstances surrounding him and not focusing on God's majesty and divine plan. We blame God, because it's easy to do, we like to blame others for our problems. God gives us no more than we can handle (1 Cor. 10-13) that means for every trial and every battle we face God has given us the equal amount of strength for the battle. The danger is that we feel that God has abandoned us and we end up relying on our plans and not His. We must understand that God is preparing us for immortality and the trials we face are part of our "perfecting" for His kingdom. We must claim His promises and LIVE THEM! Though He slay me I will still trust in Him.