I am starting to think that we live in a rain forrest and that we skipped summer and went straight into winter. This weekend was spent at the flea market and the temperature was 53 and it rained more than not. If you would have asked me on Saturday morning if I thought we would be able to make enough money to be profitable for the weekend I would have said no. Nevertheless going to the flea market is something we can do for ourselves to better our unemployment blues. We owe we owe so off to work we go is our motto. Some of you work Monday through Friday from 8 until 5 and we work Wed, Saturday and Sunday. We do not necessarily like it but for now it is helping us to stay afloat. My prayer on Saturday morning was two fold. I prayed that the Lord would turn the water spigot off and that he would send people with disposable income. God answered both of my prayers but not necessarily in the order or timing that I would have expected. Saturday morning the water spigot was turned off for about an hour which gave us time to unload our cars and get set up. Then the water was turned back on. We needed to rake together 293.00 to cover a rent check and the light bill that needs to clear our checking account this week. Thanks to our being able to sell Katy's computer we were able to get almost twice that amount which means the immediate emergency is taken care of. Thank you Jesus for providing for us in this way. Did I have the faith that God would provide this weekend? I guess that in some small way that I did because I did go out there even though I thought in my flesh and spirit that there was NO way that people would come to the flea market in the cold and rain.

I did not sell Katy's computer until 2:00 pm on Sunday when this guy walked up and was slightly interested in the deal. This person told me that they had been looking for a long time for a good deal and a good deal he certainly got. I told him that I thought God probably sent him by my table that day and that I was extremely thankful for his purchase. I also found out that this person also sells and works on computers and buys them in bulk which means that I may have made another local contact with someone that could provide me with consignment machines.

If I were to have it my way I would have a full time job making what I am used to make and we would not have to worry about bills and when they get paid. I believe that God has other ideas about providing for our family. Gods word says that we will never beg for bread and that our basic needs will be taken care of. Even though I have been under employed and over appreciated for over 95 days now we have not had to loose anything with regards to utilities and service. We have had to choose to sell off some of the extra STUFF that we have which are not required for every day life. Thusly Katy's computer has a new home. Are we happy about our belongings becoming a savings account for the flea market? No, we are not happy. The important thought here is that our happiness does not necessarily equate to our needs being met. Wants and temporary happiness do add up though. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be happy or experiencing happiness. What causes us problems though is when we prioritize our lives in such a way that we make decisions based on what makes us happy and fulfilled. We can not live our lives according to our emotional feelings but rather according to those priorities and purpose that God has for us at the moment.

I would rather that my needs be supplied abundantly and in advance so that my faith would not have to be tested on a daily basis. I would rather be happy and not have to experience stress and anxiety because of the bills that are piling up. The million dollar question is this. If everything is taken care of and there are no needs or dependency upon me to trust in Christ how much faith do I have and how much glory is given to Christ? When we are weak He is strong. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
If all of my needs are provided for and I do not have to strain or struggle with regards to hearing God then what will get my attention? When I am happy and everything is going my way will I choose to HEAR God or will I fill my days with the activities of life that will drown Him out? How will others see God working in my life? How will I grow in grace and spiritual maturity if my happiness is continually determined by temporary events and stuff that just clutters up my life?

We are not alone in this struggle. There are a lot of people who are unemployed and struggling to make ends meet. Perhaps we are going through this so that we can learn how to live with less and how to maintain our faith and JOY despite of our external circumstances. Someone reminded me of Job recently. What we are experiencing is a JOKE compared to that. Compared to Job and how HE reacted to what HE experienced I have been reduced into a sniveling clot of whimpering whining. The ouch factor on that is pretty severe but sometimes we need to be yanked out of our pity parties aye?

I am hopeful that out of the whining, wailing and knashing of teeth that I will learn what I am supposed to learn and that I will be able to share what I am learning in such a way as to impact the lives of others and produce spiritual fruit and life and restoration in the way that God would have me to.

Blessings to you our friends. May God bless you and keep you as you walk out your walk of faith this day and week.

In His service
James Moffitt

A friend and co laborer in Christ wrote the following thoughts and questions and I was inspired to write my thoughts below.

I look around me, being me, and I ask, "Why Lord!" And I also ask, "How, Lord! ... How can we do what you've called us to do! ... What you've called me to do!"


I think that one of our problems is that we get so caught up in all of the tiny details of our lives and all our problems and circumstances. Doing this causes us to have tunnel vision and we fail to see the big picture.

God is not finished working on us yet and while He does not expect us to be perfect like Himself He does expect us to work towards an attitude and lifestyle of holiness, spiritual humility and contrition. The process of holiness and being made completely unto His image lasts a life time and sometimes when we see our human fragilities and we become critical of our failures and think to ourselves that we are failures. The liar and deceiver of our souls are always ready to show us our imperfections and tendencies to have wicked and evil thought lives.

What separates us from the love of Christ? The bible says that NOTHING can separate us from His love. His love is perfect, his love is eternal, and his grace is for you and me. Nevertheless we get so caught in our own mental and spiritual and emotional traps that we forget whom we are and whom we belong to. We are then ensnared by our own emotional, spiritual and sometimes physical chains of bondage.

If you take a Christian and put him or her next to an unbeliever what would you say makes us different? What is supposed to make us different? The only thing that separates us from the chaff is that we are saved by Grace and the Holy Spirit of God resides in our hearts. Do we really think that our holiness is purely driven by our own self constraint and self control? No, our ability to be holy because He is Holy is because of His power and mercy and grace that resides within us and shines forth like the noonday sun. The more we die to ourselves and the more we release control of our lives to the Holy Spirit the more HE can change our lives from the inside out and the more we can radiate the love of Christ and the mercy of God to those who are around us.

If we are not radiating the love and mercy and truth of God to others in our communities it is because there is something keeping that from happening. What is keeping the love of God from being radiated from our lives to those that are around us? Are we walking the walk consistently or are we talking the talk? Does our faith walk shine forth with a life full of confidence and integrity or do we compromise our faith when we think it is convenient or profitable to do so?

When will we get beyond the works mentality? We think that if we attend church religiously every time the church doors are open that we have satisfied some sort of requirement. We carry our bibles and note pads to the pews and take notes. We smile and say nice things to people around us and appear to be the people we are supposed to be. Inside we are sick and dying because of all the infirmities and hidden skeletons in our closed up closets. How can we as the living church of God reach our communities when we ourselves need intensive care? Evil will always reside in this fallen world and there will not be peace on earth as long as our enemy is allowed to wander this earth. God's people however can and shall make the difference in the lives of those who are lost and dying and headed to hell. We are the ONLY JESUS that some people will ever see. We have the truth in our hearts because we have been given the truth. We must tell people around us what the bible says about Gods love and His desire to set them free from the bondages of sin and death. We can not do that effectively if we appear to be just as sick and in bondage as the next person. Can we?

We need to figure out how to get past the quest for more and more knowledge and information and get to the point where we can live what we know.
When we can figure out how to encourage one another, love one another, rebuke one another, speak truth into one another's lives then we will be able to have restoration, healing and integrity in our own lives.

I would love to talk about some "real" stuff that keeps us prisoners to sin and defeat. How can we put our faith into action and make a "real" difference?

God loves you so much that He made the ultimate sacrifice. Today He stands ready with open arms to heal us and restore us and give us the power we need to live and lead in a fallen world.

In His Name
James Moffitt