Lessons about God from a Winged Back Chair

Recently CJM (Complete Joy Ministries) hosted the Igniting the Kingdom ~ the Shalom Blessing gathering here in Portland, Oregon. We placed a wing backed chair on the platform next to a table and lamp. I had seen this picture in my mind for months and so when God provided it I was excited.

 

As we put things together I fought with the chair for it wasn’t what I wanted, it wasn’t pretty enough, it wasn’t in the greatest of shape, but God provided it, so we went with it. I was amazed as these four lessons came out of this wing backed chair and over the next couple of blogs we will be talking about each one individually.

 

God is here with us.

God wants a place in our lives and in our hearts.

God love us just as we are.

God accepts and welcomes change.

The night before the gathering as I prepared and prayed the Lord convicted me if I got tired I had to allow myself to sit in the chair to conserve my energy which was tough since this chair was a reminder that God was there at the gathering.

 

During the gathering I extended this invitation to those who attended to come and sit in there daddy’s lap, the lap of God. The picture you see is of the chair and one of the attendees who sat in the chair during the Friday night session.

 

Blessings and Complete Joy,

Millie

 

Want more encouragement and teaching, visit our blog pages…

 

Equip; find the complete material for a Journey to Maturity. Check out a copy of SOAP a bible study method you can copy and print out for personal use.

 

If you want to support the ministry of Complete Joy please visit…

 

Our Paypal link: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=EDNLJ6QRQVTWJ

 

Complete Joy reaches out…

 

On the Radio; Mildred and her friends can be heard on the radio, both in Portland and on the web, go to On the Radio for more information.

 

Join us on Twitter at MyCompleteJoy

 

Join us on Facebook at Complete Joy or Joy Jewelry

 

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This blog is part of the ministry of Complete Joy and is published each Tuesday and Saturday, usually by noon Pacific Time.

Fault verses Consequences

Humans naturally believe God’s unconditional love should negate consequences. When in reality unconditional love is to love without finding fault, which has nothing to do with consequences.

 

Fault in this context is an intellectual imperfection or impairment while a consequence is a conclusion resulting from reason or argument. They are two very different things.

 

Simply put, fault is the human condition while consequence is the result of human action.

 

Because of James 1:5 we know we can ask God without him finding fault, this is part of His unconditional love, he love us in spite of our human condition. When we understand this we can begin to untangle our sin driven belief that God’s love and the death of Christ, negates consequences here on earth.

 

Clearly every breath of life reveals that the Love of God and the death of Christ were never meant to negate consequences because the Love of God established choice and it is that choice which brings consequences.

 

We must not fault, distrust or doubt God because of our choices and there consequences.

 

Blessings and Complete Joy,

Millie

 

Want more encouragement and teaching, visit our blog pages…

 

Equip; find the complete material for a Journey to Maturity. Check out a copy of SOAP a bible study method you can copy and print out for personal use.

 

If you want to support the ministry of Complete Joy please visit…

 

Our Paypal link: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=EDNLJ6QRQVTWJ

 

Complete Joy reaches out…

 

On the Radio; Mildred and her friends can be heard on the radio, both in Portland and on the web, go to On the Radio for more information.

 

Join us on Twitter at MyCompleteJoy

 

Join us on Facebook at Complete Joy or Joy Jewelry

 

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This blog is part of the ministry of Complete Joy and is published each Tuesday and Saturday, usually by noon Pacific Time.

Believing God will Answer

Last time we talked about asking God. So when we have gotten up the courage to ask God, there is one more thing God asks us to do, believe and not doubt. We must believe he will answer us. Looking once again at James 1

“But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.”  James 1:6-7

 

To believe is to have a firm conviction. When it come to asking God, to believe means we have a firm conviction that he will answer. How firm is your conviction in God’s willingness to answer?

 

We must remember just as God’s love is unconditional, His willingness to answer is as well. When we doubt God will answer often we don’t believe God really loves and cares for us. Many Christians get mixed up when bad things happen thinking it is because God doesn’t love them.

 

When we doubt, we are tossed about emotionally and so we are like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. Our emotions left unchecked, often go where they have always gone, rather that having a firm conviction that even if the answer isn’t what we want to hear, God will answer us. Suddenly when we take this stand we are once again on dry ground with our eyes on our God, which allows us to be focused and able to hear from God.

 

To help us understand God’s unconditional love we need to understand fault vs. consequence, so join me next time.

 

Blessings and Complete Joy,

Millie

 

Want more encouragement and teaching, visit our blog pages…

 

Equip; find the complete material for a Journey to Maturity. Check out a copy of SOAP a bible study method you can copy and print out for personal use.

 

If you want to support the ministry of Complete Joy please visit…

 

Our Paypal link: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=EDNLJ6QRQVTWJ

 

Complete Joy reaches out…

 

On the Radio; Mildred and her friends can be heard on the radio, both in Portland and on the web, go to On the Radio for more information.

 

Join us on Twitter at MyCompleteJoy

 

Join us on Facebook at Complete Joy or Joy Jewelry

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This blog is part of the ministry of Complete Joy and is published each Tuesday and Saturday, usually by noon Pacific Time.

Need Wisdom, Just Ask!

How many of us lack wisdom? The simple answer is we all do. Today we are doing to look at why asking God is not only the right thing, but it comes without him finding fault.

 

“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God,

who gives generously to all without finding fault,

and it will be given to him.” James 1:5

Here in James we are told if we lack wisdom we should ask God. Most Christians stop there and decide to go off on their own because they are afraid God won’t answer.

 

Many America learned as they grew up, that asking the wrong question was a bad, whether it was at home or while going to school, so now as adults they believe God will respond the same way i.e. He won’t answer and might even find their question offensive.

 

Here in James we are told, we should ask, and our God who gives generously, will help us without finding fault!

 

That simple statement in James, “without finding fault”, is a life changing statement. The reason our heavenly Father does not find fault is: we are his children who he loves unconditionally.  Our heavenly Father is a good father who desires to nurture and support us without finding fault.

 

So be courageous and ask!

 

Join me next time as we talk about believing God will answer.

 

Blessings and Complete Joy,

Millie

 

Igniting the Kingdom the Shalom Blessing; here in Portland, Oregon on February 17 -18, 2012, for more information or to register visit our Gathering and Conference page of this blog.

 

Want more encouragement and teaching, visit our blog pages…

 

Equip; find the complete material for a Journey to Maturity. Check out a copy of SOAP a bible study method you can copy and print out for personal use.

 

If you want to support the ministry of Complete Joy please visit…

 

Our Paypal link: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=EDNLJ6QRQVTWJ

 

Complete Joy reaches out…

 

On the Radio; Mildred and her friends can be heard on the radio, both in Portland and on the web, go to On the Radio for more information.

 

Join us on Twitter at MyCompleteJoy

 

Join us on Facebook at Complete Joy or Joy Jewelry

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This blog is part of the ministry of Complete Joy and is published each Tuesday and Saturday, usually by noon Pacific Time.

Can trials really be pure joy?

Today we are going to talk about why trials are pure joy.

 

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” James 1:2-3

 

To understand why trials are pure joy, first we must to understand what trials are. The word trial comes from the word try. The meaning of try: to pick out, to sift, another definition is to fit or finish with accuracy. My favorite is to purify, or refine, because these words help us to understand what the Lord is trying to tell us here in James 1.

 

Trials don’t come into our lives to frustrate us, rather they come to purify and refine us so as we become purified and refined, we are proficient at what we are trying to do,  and like the seasoned athlete who crosses the finish line tired but with pure joy for he has finished the race well!

 

Trying, i.e. trials are always in the end a good thing. Years ago, I realized that trying is another word for learning.  Learning to do new things (trials) help us to stay young and so just as with my early years of blogging, which were tough times hoping someone would read my thoughts, now blogging has turned into pure joy! I have learned the secrets through my trials to blog for it isn’t about getting it right, rather it is about sharing from my heart what the Lord is showing me.

 

Join me next time as we look at James chapter 1 and remember…

Trials product pure joy when we see them as learning opportunities,

so enjoy the journey!

 

Blessings and Complete Joy,

Millie

 

Igniting the Kingdom the Shalom Blessing; here in Portland, Oregon on February 17 -18, 2012, for more information or to register visit our Gathering and Conference page of this blog.

 

Want more encouragement and teaching, visit our blog pages…

 

Equip; find the complete material for a Journey to Maturity. Check out a copy of SOAP a bible study method you can copy and print out for personal use.

 

If you want to support the ministry of Complete Joy please visit…

 

Our Paypal link: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=EDNLJ6QRQVTWJ

 

Complete Joy reaches out…

 

On the Radio; Mildred and her friends can be heard on the radio, both in Portland and on the web, go to On the Radio for more information.

 

Join us on Twitter at MyCompleteJoy

 

Join us on Facebook at Complete Joy or Joy Jewelry

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This blog is part of the ministry of Complete Joy and is published each Tuesday and Saturday, usually by noon Pacific Time.