Ahava

James 4:11

I’d like to start off by saying this isn’t a blog entry beating myself or anyone else up. Now then… Lets continue :)

Every time I find I’m not in the Word, I can physically feel myself deteriorating. Two weeks ago I was sick and I realized how much I was neglecting the time to read scripture. I didn’t notice temptation by it just showing up or that my attitude changed from it simply being negative. But I noticed them when it took longer than a second to say “skerrrrr” to temptation and when giving kindness was not a first response.

I believe the solution to my problems are not figuring out how to rid of them, but simply focusing on Jesus. As Scott Hooper would say, “I am fragile and the moment I take my eyes off of Him I fall apart.”

Prayer brings about the faith stored up in me, fasting makes me aware of what God has been saying all along, praying in the spirit allows me to say what I don’t know how to speak, and The Word I read feeds the part of my soul that hungers to live. But ultimately, none of these things make a difference if I’m not humbled at the feet of Jesus. Everything in my life is to glorify God. Even the fact the He lavishes His love on me is to glorify Him. I can’t explain how real He is and I won’t try. But I will quote Pastor Mario Murillo in saying, “Instead of seeing if God is real, just be real enough to ask Him.”

The Word of God brings about life; bread for each day. Stay humbled at His feet, focused on His face, and His Word will sustain you.

Much Love,
Jeremy

@tjvowell @rfcministries

If you know me, then you’ve most likely heard my stories about the dreams God has put in my heart for Africa. And I don’t just mean dreams in terms of goals but literall dreams. It started in November 2011 when I’d go to sleep and instantly be in this nice place under a shaded tree. The grass is perfectly flawless; comparable to that award winning lawn grass in Dallas. Well, in the middle of that luscious scenery, there is an old wooden plow just plowing up the grass. When I say old, I mean that sucker is beat up. Weird thing is nothing was pulling the plow! It was simply plowing good ground by itself. This dream occurred once again in December and another time in January. Immediately when I woke up from the dreams I knew in my heart it was Africa. Didn’t really make much sense but I couldn’t ignore it. Come June of 2012, I was praying for some pastors when God gives me the vision of the dream. This time, after watching the plow do it’s thing, Jesus appears in front of it with leather straps around him pulling the plow. He simply turns his head and begins to tell me, “Jeremy, I’ll do all the work if you just follow me.” Thursday night is a “bible study at the hoopers” usual for me. But this past thursday I decided I was going to spend some time at the house by myself in prayer with God. I had some music going while I was praying and this spontaneous worship song came on. One line said “You wrap yourself around every detail of my life”. It was immediately after that when I heard God say get your things and go to the hoopers. When I got to the bible study it was wrapping up and it was prayer request time. In my heart I knew this wasn’t why God called me there. But, that’s what happened; we prayed for a little bit and began to leave. A little disappointed, I grabbed my stuff and as I’m about to leave someone speaks up and says, “Hey guys, if you need to go, feel free but I feel God has a word for someone.” I instantly knew this was for me! She also told Greg (who was a first timer at the bible study) that God was going to speak a word through him. Everyone finally realized it was me (probably because I was smiling so big) and they started praying over me. About 8-10min into praying, God gives Greg a word for me. It’s very important to understand that Greg didn’t know my story or anything about my dreams or my calling for that matter. He simply believed my calling was just music. God told him that Africa is somewhere in my future. Well I couldn’t contain the excitement or wait to tell my pastor. We ended up meeting yesterday morning. I shared to him the things God is doing in my life and the calling to Africa. He makes a call right then and there to a missionary (Pastor Tim) who does missions in Africa and whose son lives there. As my pastor told him the story he says, “It’s funny that you called me because we are taking a trip to Zambia in November and someone had to back out, opening up a spot.” Every door has opened perfectly and I thank God for this! I’ve gotten more details on the trip and a website you can visit to see who I’d be going with.

I’d leave November 24th for 2 weeks.
The cost for the trip will be around $2,800.
That’s a ticket: $1,500
Travel, Food, Lodging: $1,300
Plus my Passport and Zambia Visa which will be roughly $250 together.

I really do believe this is only the beginning to what God’s about to do in and through my life. I know that this cost is way to big for me but I believe this is in God’s will for me. If you would like to donate, please contact me at:

jeremytodd2007@aim.com

Again, thank you so much for taking the time to read and respond! I’m forever grateful and thankful!

Godbless
jeremytoddjackson

(Source: rfcministries.org)

For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love. (Galatians 5:6 NLT)

This scripture does not contradict
James 2:26, “Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.”

As a matter of fact they are intertwined with one another! In Galatians, Paul is saying, Look! We are saved by faith, not by deeds. BUT(wait for it) love for others & for God is the response of those who have been forgiven. #boom!
And James is saying, Yea, good deeds will never earn salvation, BUT (there’s that big ole but again) true faith always results in a changed life & good deeds.

Paul speaks against those who try to be saved by good deeds instead of true faith; James speaks against those who confuse mere intellectual assent (agreement with a statement or proposal to do something) with true faith. Even the demons know who Jesus is, but they don’t obey him(James 2:19). True faith involves a commitment of our entire selves to God.

I can’t express the importance of reading scripture in context. If we fail to do so, we begin to preach a false gospel. In turn, we give a false hope.

God bless!
@sirjeremytodd

First date awkwardness.. For some people, that’s the feeling they get when there’s no singing & just music during worship. That awkwardness comes from having nothing to talk about, oppose to someone who’s been dating/married for awhile now. They have a connection and the flow of words/conversation come naturally. The kicker is, even in the silence, there’s no awkwardness because of the growth of their relationship. There is a comfort & peace there, even in the quiet.

Listen, it’s okay. :)
Don’t let this discourage you. Let it show you discernment. Don’t let this condemn you, leaving you to feel greasy about your relationship status with Jesus. Let it convict you, showing you the guidelines on how to better yourself and how to accept His mercies and to pursue Him daily.

The next time you’re in the middle of worship and the selah (musical rest) comes, you’ll be comfortable because it won’t be a first date with the Holy Spirit. Instead it’ll be the 50th anniversary of marriage. The usual pursuit.

God bless!
@sirjeremytodd [Twitter]

stephenalynch:

Sound fun, doesn’t it? If our day started at 6 PM, this would it would look like.

1. Eat
2. Spend time w/ family and friends
3. Sleep
4. Eat again
5. Do some work

Sound radical? It’s not, really. This is probably pretty close to what you already do. Look at what gets our attention if we see 6 PM as a beginning:

1. Nourishment
2. Relationships
3. Rest

Join me this week in flipping our schedules. Let’s give more priority to the things that matter the most.

Who’s in?

Yes!

Kenneth Boa