Godly Persistance Produces Plenty


Keep Pushing Tender Sprout

Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out if they’ve got a second. Give your dreams all you’ve got and you’ll be amazed at the energy that comes out of you.

William James

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:37-39 (NKJV)

101 Ways to Serve Chicken


Insight for your “Journey across the Sky”

A View from the Nest www.eagleviews.org

For all that is in the world–the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life–is not of the Father but is of the world. 1 John 2:16 (NKJV)

chicken_2523cHow many ways can you serve chicken? Well just ask the Chinese, it appears they have discovered at least 101 ways to serve it. Take a look at the menu and you will see things like: Ginger chicken, garlic chicken, orange chicken, pineapple chicken, cashew chicken, General Taos chicken, sweet and sour chicken, chicken and broccoli, chicken and mushroom, chicken chow mien, and the list goes on.

The main ingredient in all these items is – you guessed it – chicken. In fact, for the most part, the chicken is made the same in all the dishes. The only thing that changes is the sauce poured over it and the vegetables that accompany the chicken. Remove all the extras and you have a piece of chicken – no more, no less.

That is how it is with sin. Although it may come in different dressings, to appeal to different taste buds, it is still the same basic ingredient. Lusts of the eyes, lusts of the flesh, or the pride of life. These three main ingredients remain no matter how much you change the dressing.

Some people may not be enticed by orange chicken, but perhaps the mushroom chicken will be more appealing. Not a connoisseur of pineapple? Well then, try ginger or garlic chicken instead. No matter how you disguise the chicken it is still after all, chicken.

Faith, hope and love are the anti-sin ingredients in life. Faith battles the pride of life, hope deals with the lust of the eyes, and love deals with the lust of the flesh. Although these too may appear in different recipes they still remain when all the dressing has been removed. When you strip away all the added ingredients, what you have left is a simple message of faith. God love the world so much that he gave his only son to die so that whosoever believes on him will not perish but have everlasting life.

How do you like your chicken?

But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness. Isaiah 40:31 (BBE)

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I Quit My Job Today


Insight for your “Journey across the Sky”
A view from the nest www.eagleviews.org

Scripture: Isaiah 26:3
“Thou will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in Thee” KJV

Most people do not rejoice in the fact that they just quit a job. I have to admit though I am pretty comfortable with my decision. It is not like I have never quit a job before. Sometimes we let the unknown keep us from walking in the light we currently have. We want to know the end result before we take the first step on a whole new adventure. God does not always give us the whole picture but he does provide enough light to light our initial steps. Start walking in that light and then keep on following the light.

By a pillar of cloud you led them in the day and by a pillar of fire in the night to light for them the way in which they should go. Neh 9:12 (ESV)

Many people go through life never experiencing all that God has for them. They are held captive by their fears of the unknown. They are kept on the far side of the Jordan River. Rather than crossing over they much prefer to stand and look. Look at the things God promised. Look at the place God would have them to be. Look at an uncertain future. They chose to remain where they were.

For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on this side of the Jordan to the east.” Numbers 32:19 (ESV)

Jesus clearly said “Follow me”. There has to be a willingness to follow, within us, in order to obey that commandment. He once told a rich man to sell all he had and follow him. The rich man went away weeping because he had great riches. (Matt 19:16-22) Sometimes our possessions keeps us from possessing the greatest gift God has to offer, faith and trust in His son Jesus. Without a total dependence on Jesus to lead us where He wants us to go, we will never reach the place God has prepared for us.

It took a while for Caleb and Joshua to reach the promised land. They had certainly marched around it for many years. All that time they were able to look into the land but never able to actually possess it. This was a promise made to Abraham and his descendants. Moses had come to rescue the people from Egyptian bondage to be taken into their inheritance. God wanted to give them all that he had promised them. God wanted to bless them beyond measure. Israel stood on the banks of the Jordan river and was able to scout out the land but because of their fear and unbelief they had lost the opportunity to actually possess the promise. (Numbers 13 & 14)

Age has a tendency to teach us lessons we would not normally learn had we not gotten older. Joshua and Caleb never gave up on the idea that one day they were going to actually taste of the goodness of God’s promise. They never gave up hoping that one day they would enter into the land. They knew God to be faithful and they knew he would never promise something he did not intend to deliver.

They knew that with God all things were possible. However on the first go around they were outnumbered by all the voices who cried out not to go. God said go, the people said no. It is difficult to overcome the deafening cries of the majority. It can be difficult to hear that still small voice of God when he says peace be still. The roar of the thunder can drown out the whisper of God’s spirit. Whatever the reason, many have missed their opportunity to cross over to the place God had planned for them, to receive the blessings He has in store, which He is more than willing to bestow.

I wonder how many blessings we miss out on by simply saying no when God says go? Do you ever stop and contemplate such things? Well I have to admit that I am thinking today about what I may have already missed by refusing to step out and walk into the promises God gave me years ago. I hope I am not too old to still experience the promise. I am not looking for riches. I had riches. They did not satisfy. I am not looking for a career for I have a calling from God. I have a purpose, a promise, a place prepared for me that only He can provide. All I have to do is step out and follow.

Even though assured of God’s presence the Israelites could not shake the feeling that they were nothing compared to those they saw before them. Fear had overcome them because of the report of the spies. In order to possess all that God promised I, like the Israelites, need to conquer the giants standing in the way of my blessing. We set up obstacles to our blessings in our own minds. We look at the outward appearance of things rather than relying on the Spirit of God to lead us. We listen too often to the naysayer instead of to what God says.

I want to. I really do want to. I have thought about it for years. I even had some opportunities to look into that which God promised. I even got to taste of the goodness of that land. Perhaps now is the time to step out, step in, cross over and do it.

So I quit my job today in order to be all I can be in God. I left a career to follow the call. He said come follow me and I finally said okay. When God says go, do not say no.

But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness. Isaiah 40:31 (BBE)

Interlocking Pieces


image001So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Eph 2:19-22 (ESV)

I used to enjoy jigsaw puzzles as a child. I could not wait to rip open the box and start working on the picture inside. My first puzzle was the five piece wooden kind in a wood frame. They were simple to complete because the pieces where huge. As I got older I would try more difficult puzzles until I graduated to the 5000 piece variety. You had to be a real connoisseur of puzzles to tackle one of these monsters.

image002

The basics were always the same, start with the straight edges, match the color groups, and then start to work on individual images inside the completed frame. Nothing was more frustrating than a missing piece. The gapping hole where that last piece should be stares back at you every time you look at the puzzle and you know it will never be complete unless that piece is found. You can not send away for missing pieces at a missing piece factory, you just have to discard the puzzle or live with it being incomplete.

It is unfortunate that many lives are left unfinished on life’s table because they refuse to accept the missing piece that would make their life complete. Someone once said we have a God shaped piece missing within us. No matter what we try to force into that space it will not fit properly. It would be just like forcing a piece into the puzzle that just does not belong. Jesus is that missing piece that completes an otherwise unfinished life.

Finding the Right Piece

Life is much like that interlocking puzzle. Each piece has to be put into its proper place to complete the over all picture. The designer of the puzzle had a specific pattern from which he cut out the tiny pieces and then scattered them around. God is the master puzzle maker and He has spread His pieces throughout the world and is working toward bringing them together so the world can see the finished product. The puzzle looks like a mess inside the box and spread out all over the table top but it begins to take on character as each piece is fit into its proper place. You can not force a piece to fit where it does not belong because the piece next to it will not fit either and the whole puzzle will lose its focus and pattern.

Continue reading “Interlocking Pieces”