Everything Has Its Time

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NKJV)


1. To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven:

2. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted;

3. A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

4. A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

5. A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

6. A time to gain, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away;

7. A time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

8. A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Humans everywhere attempts to escape these seasons, but as the preacher say... TIME will override every planned action under the sun. Thousands upon thousands of people act out each day as if they will live forever; the sad truth is... each one of us is one breath away from death.

I suggest we find common ground and live life to its fullest; we only live once on this side. It’s time to enjoy life while the blood is running warm through our bodies. Someone said... love like you’ve never been hurt, live like you will die tomorrow.

Many seasons will expire while I am typing this message, but each person planned to be here. It's TIME to let go of bitterness, anger, ill will, and any other poison that kill off the human race. We need each other like never before!

God gave us (the humans) dominion over the earth…

Genesis 1:26
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

With all of the hateful acts in the world, we are very poor managers. Wake up people! This is our one and only shot at life as we know it.

Blessings to all,

CJ

Glory Only in the Lord

1 Corinthians 1:26 – 29 (NKJV)

26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.

27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;

28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence.

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Don’t take your calling lightly! The God we serve handpicked each Christian for His work. I know you think you came to God first, but the truth is, God had His eyes on you well before you ever gave Him the time of day.

Notice what Paul said, not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. The reason is not many people who are living life to its fullest, meaning giving all their time and efforts to themselves and their loved ones would even consider giving the God we serve glory. Great riches for the most part seem to hinder us from serving God with our hold heart.

Paul said God has chosen the foolish things of the world, meaning those things that the wise of this world call unwise, unlearned and the uneducated. We are put down by those who call themselves wise in this world, but God called the very ones who are put down to do great works for His mighty Kingdom. Praise the Lord! He is an awesome God!

God did all this so that no flesh would glory in His presence. Be careful how you handle children of God, you may get by with mistreating them for a season, but God will step up and fight their battle. I would NOT want to be in the path of an angry God when I have wronged one of His children.

Christian family, hold to God’s unchanging hand; the world around us has all but turned their back on our God. We must remember who called us, and who will be there when everything else fail around us. Stay encouraged!!!

CJ

Building a house for the Lord

1 Kings 5

New King James Version (NKJV)

Solomon Prepares to Build the Temple

Verse 1, Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, because he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram had always loved David.

My response… Change means new challenges, new visions, a new boss and possibly a new direction. King Hiram did NOT know what type of King Solomon would be, but it was customary to congratulate the newly selected King.

Verse 2, Then Solomon sent to Hiram, saying:

My response… Waiting for a response can be very troubling; what will he say? What kind of king will he be? Will he be as kind as his father David was?

Verse 3, You know how my father David could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the wars which were fought against him on every side, until the Lord put his foes under the soles of his feet.

Verse 4, but now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor evil occurrence.

Verse 5, and behold, I propose to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spoke to my father David, saying, “Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he shall build the house for My name.”

My response… When we are going through troubles during certain seasons, we can’t give God our full attention. The troubles of this life seem to take our focus away from the things of God. But!!! When God handcuff the devil taking his power for a season, giving you rest, it’s time to build the LORD a house.

We all have arrived to a place in our lives where things are going well; the wife, the husband, the children, the job, the boss, finances, the car, the house, everything in our lives seems to be behaving.

When life is good, this is the time to build the Lord a house. How do we build His house? First by giving Him all of you! Read His Word, pray for direction, render a portion of your blessings to bless others.

Just remember, the Lord will release the devil at some point, and we must work the work while we can, because the hour is coming when the troubles will resurface.

Verse 7, so it was, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly and said, Blessed be the Lord this day, for He has given David a wise son over this great people!

My response… I believe king Hiram was relieved when King Solomon responded with kindness; this symbolized the possibility of a new relationship. In addition, looking through my spiritual eyes, I believe both kings had a need. King Solomon needed the skills that the people under the control of king Hiram possessed, and king Hiram needed the money.

Timing is everything!!!

Verse 8, Then Hiram sent to Solomon, saying: I have considered the message which you sent me, and I will do all you desire concerning the cedar and cypress logs.

Verse 9, My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon to the sea; I will float them in rafts by sea to the place you indicate to me, and will have them broken apart there; then you can take them away. And you shall fulfill my desire by giving food for my household.

My response… What we have here are details laid out by king Hiram. Someone involved in the relationship, business or personal need to make plain the details. The devil is always in the details!

Many relationships are destroyed because no one made plain the details. Writing down or talking out what you are going to do, and allowing the other person in the relationship to express what they will do makes for the best outcome.

We are building the Lord a house when this process is in operation. God is well pleased!

1 Kings 6

Verse 7, And the temple, when it was being built, was built with stone finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.

My response… What a vision king Solomon express here. He was so careful to please the Lord that he did NOT want excessive noise heard at the Temple site; he made the workers prepare everything at a remote area, because he knew that our God is holy, and the ground they were building on was holy.

What does this teach us? We need to take notice how we enter the house of the Lord; let’s make all our noise happen outside of the house of the Lord. I don’t believe God is pleased with our approach in His presence. We are too noisy in the house of worship. The only noise that should be heard in the house of God is praise and worship to our King.

Solomon made every attempt to please our Lord. We should learn what pleases Him!

Verse 11, then the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying:

Verse 12, “Concerning this temple which you are building, if you walk in My statutes, execute My judgments, keep all My commandments, and walk in them, then I will perform My word with you, which I spoke to your father David.

Verse 13, And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel.”

My response… When your actions please the Lord, He will send you a message. The message is always IF you do, THEN I will do. We run well for a season with the Lord, but something happens! We cry to the Lord, but He is a God of His Word, IF you do, THEN I will do. We often quote the scriptures of the blessings of the Lord, but we overlook the IF factor.

If we obey God, THEN He will accomplish the promises He made to us.

1 Kings 8

Verse 1, Now Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the City of David, which is Zion.

Verse 2, Therefore all the men of Israel assembled with King Solomon at the feast in the month of Ethanim, which is the seventh month.

Verse 3, So all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.

My response… If you want the presence of the Lord to enter your temple, everything must be set in order. God will NOT enter a place that hasn’t been purged of worldly furnishings. He commands our full attention!

King Solomon finished the house of the Lord in seven years, now they are bringing the ARK of the covenant (which represent the presence of God) in the temple on the seventh month, which is the number of completion.

We need to learn that saints everywhere are pieces used by God to build Him a house. Let’s complete something for the Lord! Seven is the number of completion; give God seven minutes, seven hours, seven days, seven months, seven years or just praise Him each day seven times.

Verse 6, then the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the Most Holy Place, under the wings of the cherubim.

Verse 10, and it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord,

Verse 11, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

My response… when you set aside a most holy place for the Lord, and set the table for Him to enter in, His glory will show up in your temple also. He is coming back for a temple NOT made with hands; He is coming back for each of us who obey and trust Him.

In closing… King Solomon provided an awesome display of honor and reverence to our Lord for all to follow. Let us take notice, and approach the house of God with honor and respect. May we continue to build our portion of God’s house until He say “well done my good and faithful servant.”

Blessings to all!!!

CJ

A message to the children of God

Listen to the Word of the Lord.

Hosea 4:6 (NKJV) My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.

Hosea 4 (Good News Translation)

The Lord's Accusation against Israel

1. The Lord has an accusation to bring against the people who live in this land. Listen, Israel, to what he says: There is no faithfulness or love in the land, and the people do not acknowledge me as God. 2.They make promises and break them; they lie, murder, steal, and commit adultery. Crimes increase, and there is one murder after another. 3. and so the land will dry up, and everything that lives on it will die. All the animals and birds, and even the fish, will die.

The Lord Accuses the Priests

4. The Lord says, let no one accuse the people or reprimand them—my complaint is against you priests. 5. Night and day you blunder on, and the prophets do no better than you. I am going to destroy Israel, your mother. 6. My people are doomed because they do not acknowledge me. You priests have refused to acknowledge me and have rejected my teaching, and so I reject you and will not acknowledge your sons as my priests.

7. The more of you priests there are, the more you sin against me, and so I will turn your honor into disgrace. 8. You grow rich from the sins of my people, and so you want them to sin more and more. 9. You will suffer the same punishment as the people! I will punish you and make you pay for the evil you do. 10. You will eat your share of the sacrifices, but still be hungry. You will worship the fertility gods, but still have no children, because you have turned away from me to follow other gods.

The Lord Condemns Pagan Worship

11. The Lord says, wine, both old and new, is robbing my people of their senses! 12. They ask for revelations from a piece of wood! A stick tells them what they want to know! They have left me. Like a woman who becomes a prostitute, they have given themselves to other gods. 13. At sacred places on the mountaintops they offer sacrifices, and on the hills they burn incense under tall, spreading trees, because the shade is so pleasant!

As a result, your daughters serve as prostitutes, and your daughters-in-law commit adultery. 14. Yet I will not punish them for this, because you yourselves go off with temple prostitutes, and together with them you offer pagan sacrifices. As the proverb says, a people without sense will be ruined.

15. Even though you people of Israel are unfaithful to me, may Judah not be guilty of the same thing. Don't worship at Gilgal or Bethaven, or make promises there in the name of the living Lord. 16. The people of Israel are as stubborn as mules. How can I feed them like lambs in a meadow? 17. The people of Israel are under the spell of idols. Let them go their own way. 18. After drinking much wine, they delight in their prostitution, preferring disgrace to honor. 19. They will be carried away as by the wind, and they will be ashamed of their pagan sacrifices.

Blessings to all!!!
CJ

Don't look back!

Genesis 19:16 – 17, 26 (MSG)

16-17 Lot was dragging his feet. The men grabbed Lot's arm, and the arms of his wife and daughters—GOD was so merciful to them!—and dragged them to safety outside the city. When they had them outside, Lot was told, "Now run for your life! Don't look back! Don't stop anywhere on the plain—run for the hills or you'll be swept away."

26 But Lot's wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt.

When God give an order it’s best to obey. He instructed them, Lot and his family NOT to look back, but a desire to capture a glimpse of her (Lot’s wife) past cost her everything. In this small yet powerful text we see a lesson of obedience / disobedience; in other words life or death. God loves us dearly, but He will NOT tolerate disobedience.

Thank God for Jesus who died on the cross for the redemption of our sins; providing a GRACE line to God who has MERCY on our souls. Praise to God in the highest!

Blessing to all,
CJ

GOD'S "PHONE" NUMBER

Hello God, I called tonight to talk a little while I need a friend who'll listen to my anxiety and trial. You see, I can't quite make it through a day just on my own... I need your love to guide me, so I'll never feel alone.

I want to ask you please to keep, my family safe and sound. Come and fill their lives with confidence for whatever fate they're bound. Give me faith, dear God, to face each hour throughout the day, and not to worry over things I can't change in any way.

I thank you God, for being home and listening to my call, for giving me such good advice when I stumble and fall.. !!!!!!! Your number, God, is the only one that answers every time. I never get a busy signal, never had to pay a dime. So thank you, God, for listening to my troubles and my sorrow.

Good night, God, I love You, too, and I'll call again tomorrow!

Love Never Fails

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NLT)

4. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud

5. Or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.

6. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.

7. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

Love… Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, but it NEVER fails.


When a man is born again, not of the flesh, but of the Spirit, the TRUE Love of God enters his/her heart. God has put within you a new life, but the old life will make every effort to smother it. True Love must be mastered! When we say Love bears all things, what we are really saying is Love covers all things. We are NOT going to hold on to past hurts, we are going to practice genuine Love; the Love that never fails.

Love believes all things, meaning even with faults of others, we believe that they are going to be greater than what they are currently presenting. Hopes all things, meaning we are willing to go the distance to see a person through as long as it takes. Endures all things, meaning we practice the one thing that has challenged each of us, “patience.” Even though we are heavily tested in these areas, when placed all together, Love never fails.

Practice Godly Love going forward.

Life is but a breath, we are here today, but gone tomorrow.

CJ

Just being there ...... STAY

A friend sent this to me.

WE ARE NOT HUMAN BEINGS GOING THROUGH A TEMPORARY SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE.
WE ARE SPIRITUAL BEINGS GOING THROUGH A TEMPORARY HUMAN EXPERIENCE.

Just Stay

A nurse took the tired, anxious serviceman to the bedside.

"Your son is here," she said to the old man.

She had to repeat the words several times before the patient's eyes opened.

Heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack, he dimly saw the young uniformed Marine standing outside the oxygen tent. He reached out his hand. The Marine wrapped his toughened fingers around the old man's limp ones, squeezing a message of love and encouragement.

The nurse brought a chair so that the Marine could sit beside the bed. All through the night the young Marine sat there in the poorly lighted ward, holding the old man's hand and offering him words of love and strength. Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the Marine move away and rest awhile.

He refused. Whenever the nurse came into the ward, the Marine was oblivious of her and of the night noises of the hospital - the clanking of the oxygen tank, the laughter of the night staff members exchanging greetings, the cries and moans of the other patients.

Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said nothing, only held tightly to his son all through the night.

Along towards dawn, the old man died. The Marine released the now lifeless hand he had been holding and went to tell the nurse. While she did what she had to do, he waited.

Finally, she returned. She started to offer words of sympathy, but the Marine interrupted her.

"Who was that man?" he asked.

The nurse was startled, "He was your father," she answered.

"No, he wasn't," the Marine replied. "I never saw him before in my life."

"Then why didn't you say something when I took you to him?"

"I knew right away there had been a mistake, but I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn't here.

When I realized that he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, knowing how much he needed me, I stayed."

I came here tonight to find a Mr. William Grey.
His Son was Killed in Iraq today, and I was sent to
inform him. What was this Gentleman's Name?

The Nurse with Tears in Her Eyes Answered,
Mr. William Grey.............


The next time someone needs you ... just be there. Stay.


WE ARE NOT HUMAN BEINGS GOING THROUGH A TEMPORARY SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE.

WE ARE SPIRITUAL BEINGS GOING THROUGH A TEMPORARY HUMAN EXPERIENCE.

Something to think about!
CJ

Our God is watching

Habakkuk 1:1-17

1 The prophecy that Habakkuk the prophet received.

Habakkuk’s Complaint

2 How long, LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save?
3 Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds.
4 Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.

The LORD’s Answer

5 “Look at the nations and watch— and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.
6 I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwellings not their own.
7 They are a feared and dreaded people; they are a law to themselves and promote their own honor.
8 Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their cavalry gallops headlong; their horsemen come from afar. They fly like an eagle swooping to devour;
9 they all come intent on violence. Their hordes advance like a desert wind and gather prisoners like sand.
10 They mock kings and scoff at rulers. They laugh at all fortified cities; by building earthen ramps they capture them.
11 Then they sweep past like the wind and go on— guilty people, whose own strength is their god.”

Habakkuk’s Second Complaint

12 LORD, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, you will never die.
You, LORD, have appointed them to execute judgment; you, my Rock, have ordained them to punish.
13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?
14 You have made people like the fish in the sea, like the sea creatures that have no ruler.
15 The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks, he catches them in his net, he gathers them up in his dragnet; and so he rejoices and is glad.
16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net and burns incense to his dragnet, for by his net he lives in luxury and enjoys the choicest food.
17 Is he to keep on emptying his net, destroying nations without mercy?

Habakkuk 2:1-20

1 I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint.

The LORD’s Answer

2 Then the LORD replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.
3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.
4 “See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright— but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness—
5 indeed, wine betrays him; he is arrogant and never at rest. Because he is as greedy as the grave and like death is never satisfied, he gathers to himself all the nations and takes captive all the peoples.
6 “Will not all of them taunt him with ridicule and scorn, saying, “‘Woe to him who piles up stolen goods and makes himself wealthy by extortion! How long must this go on?’
7 Will not your creditors suddenly arise? Will they not wake up and make you tremble? Then you will become their prey.
8 Because you have plundered many nations, the peoples who are left will plunder you. For you have shed human blood; you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.
9 “Woe to him who builds his house by unjust gain, setting his nest on high to escape the clutches of ruin!
10 You have plotted the ruin of many peoples, shaming your own house and forfeiting your life.
11 The stones of the wall will cry out, and the beams of the woodwork will echo it.
12 “Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and establishes a town by injustice!
13 Has not the LORD Almighty determined that the people’s labor is only fuel for the fire, that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing?
14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.
15 “Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk, so that he can gaze on their naked bodies!
16 You will be filled with shame instead of glory. Now it is your turn! Drink and let your nakedness be exposed! The cup from the LORD’s right hand is coming around to you, and disgrace will cover your glory.
17 The violence you have done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, and your destruction of animals will terrify you. For you have shed human blood; you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.
18 “Of what value is an idol carved by a craftsman? Or an image that teaches lies? For the one who makes it trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak.
19 Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Come to life!’ Or to lifeless stone, ‘Wake up!’ Can it give guidance? It is covered with gold and silver; there is no breath in it.”
20 The LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.
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As you can see nothing gets pass our God. We are instructed to trust God and Him alone. We walk by FAITH not by sight. My message to all Christian’s, just BELIEVE!
CJ

Thuggish behavior - from the heart of a soldier

I wake up each day during these most challenging times listening to the different conversations on the current issues facing our country. Many people have suggestions on how to get America back on track, which should be considered, but many other people oppose those suggestions.

Matthew 12:25 NIV “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.

Each time I turn on the television or radio, depending on which station I land, there are people on either side that oppose the suggestions of the other, but never arrive to a firm conclusion. I find it hard to believe that we as domestic beings are unable to reason together for a greater good; the health and protection of one of the greatest countries in the world.

I can recall many different previous/current conversations about how bad a large percentage of our young men/women are, i.e., they are labeled as disrespectful, out of control, or just not being reasonable human beings. Many who do NOT agree with their approach categorized them as thugs or common criminals who treat others violently and roughly. When I tune in to the different stations these days, television or radios, for the most part, all I hear are high class thuggish behavior.

What are our children learning from what they see/hear? You guessed it; they are learning how to act unruly/disrespectful.

Proverbs 15:1 NIV “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

Sadly, freedom is good/bad; on the one hand it is good to be able to speak our minds, voice our opinions, but on the other hand it’s destructive when we engage in bitter disputes labeling it freedom, but in reality we are polluting its very core.

1 Corinthians 10:23 AMP All things are legitimate [permissible--and we are free to do anything we please], but not all things are helpful (expedient, profitable, and wholesome). All things are legitimate, but not all things are constructive [to character].

Just because we have the freedom to say things does NOT mean we should say them. Always aim for the greater good in every situation.

In addition to the already existing madness, a large wave of Christians are behaving like the world, the Bible say we are the peace makers, how do we make peace? Pray to Him who said we are the peace makers. The great I AM! God the Father! Our every thing! The beginning and the end! The first and the last! He is all that and more.

In closing, the sad truth is as long as good/evil coexists, which will remain until our Lord return, we will continue to wage war on each other. When God isn’t ruling the heart of humans, this is what happens…

Genesis 6:5 KJV and God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Genesis 6:6. KJV and it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

Genesis 6:7. KJV and the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

Genesis 6:8. KJV but Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

When we are ready for a true change, get ready for a change of heart!

Blessings to all!!!
CJ