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A Shepherd Does Not Lead He Follows

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 A good shepherd does not limit his flock to only one field due to concerns of losing his herd nor does the shepherd only cater to certain ones in the field that have something to give them in return. He learns to respect each individual for who they are under God while teaching them how to grow to their full potential without allowing any divisions within the body. As they mature he watches from a distance as the flock learns to live in the freedom of the spirit by understanding the discipline in the Word of God to  live a full life led by God without being restricted by man.

 A true shepherd does not lead his herd from the front but he learns to guide their direction from rear. He is not to let one in his flock wander off without looking for them to show them the way back home while searching for others that may be lost from other herds in the wilderness of this world.  He does not force them to return or condemn them when they may get lost.  But he welcomes them with open arms full of love as the others rejoice when another rejoins the flock in the field of true fellowship.

 When a shepherd does not teach his flock how to move in this world from one place to the next then it is easy for the sheep to feel restricted and even lose nutrients over time. In restricting the flock it causes some to jump fence, others to wander off, and even some to starve by not not learning how to live and move in this fallen world.  There is great joy when we learn to live and respect our position under God but even more so when we hear that call of the shepherd to find our way back home…amen

James Harrison

http://balancedlifeministry.org

http://specialdeliverybook.com

Let’s Go Fishing On The Way Home

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  It is very sad how so many individuals are displaying how they care more about themselves than the welfare of others. Where is the care and compassion within the family today that is truly reaching out to those in need and going the extra mile to show others how to properly serve within the Kingdom of God? Have the righteous  forgotten how to get down in the trenches and have those in the trenches allowed Satan to spiritually hold them down because they feel like they can’t stand up?

 Many people have allowed Satan to spiritually cause them to fall in fears, have lack of trust, lack of belief, and lack of understanding in the miracles of God that can take place when we truly display the love of Jesus in our words and actions with one another. There is nothing in this world that can compare to the encouragement that we receive and that we can give to others when we display the works of God within our life to help someone else with theirs.

 The Lord is challenging us in this message to recognize the division within the church body that has taken place due to our own lack of obedience in the Word of God and the partiality that has caused a separation between the people. When we look around it is easy to see how the rich have separated from the poor and the poor have separated from the rich due to both groups neglecting how we are all the same under God and how we are to work together in the body of Christ.

 Jesus did not tell us in Mattew 13 that the Kingdom of Heaven was only a net that caught certain types of people. He said,” The Kingdom of God is like a fishing net that was thrown into the water and caught fish of EVERY kind!” Jesus did not say this net is for the rich ones, this net is for the pretty ones, this net is for the academic ones, this net is for the poor ones, nor is this net is for any certain elect! He said,“Again, the Kingdom of God is like a fishing net that was thrown into the water and caught EVERY kind. When the net was full they dragged it up onto the shore, sat down, and sorted the good fish into crates but threw the bad ones away.“

 What determines a good fish from a bad fish? Is it their color? Is it their size? Is it where they have been? Or, is it how they have learned to use what God has given them for His glory and not their own while learning to be carried to shore? Can you imagine what it would be like in that net with the fish that knew they were headed to their final resting place? No more currents, no more waves, no more sharks, and no more sting rays. Plenty of pure water with food that never stops and plenty of light through the love of Jesus Christ.

 It is my sincere prayer that we recognize how to come together in the body of Christ to work together for our children’s future. The net is being pulled in the spirit of God towards the shore and it is time that we quit causing resistance in the body by learning to work together for who we are as a child of God rather than acting like we all have a net of our own…amen     

 God blesses us so we can bless others and if we are not sharing our blessings then we need to ask ourselves whom we are really serving?

James Harrison

Balanced Life Ministry

http://balancedlifeministry.org

How To Reach The Other Side With Jesus

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 What difference can you see in the ministry of Jesus Christ verses the ministry of many of the ministries today? Did Jesus walk out on a balcony and just wave to the people? Did He pull up to the front door of the temple where everyone would be sure to see His stallion that He rode in? Did He separate Himself from the sinners and only hang out with those that made Him look good? Did Jesus have those that were in need to answer a survey to make sure they qualified before He would help? What did Jesus do even when He was tired and the children just wanted to sit in His lap? Did Jesus have check His schedule when someone came to Him in need? How did Jesus hold back from the people that were hungry when there wasn’t enough in the physical eye to go around? Did Jesus have to advertise for people to come? Or, did He try to attract the people with something of the world to keep their attention?  

 Our Lord and Saviour taught us to spend time with each other regardless of our background in unconditional love for one another without allowing something in the flesh to stand in the way. He also taught us how to keep peace and how trust in God for the outcome rather than trying to control something ourselves. The spirit of God is what draws the people and this is what Jesus taught us to recognize rather than what we physically see because all we have to do is believe. 

  Until we learn how to quit playing church and begin to follow the Gospel as God directs we are going to continue the moral decline in our society! There is more to the ministry of God than just going to church on Sunday and then living as we choose through the week. The Lord teaches us to plant the Word in our hearts and carry it out to the people for others to see the light in the darkness of this world.

 Just because the world tries to dictate the removal of God on the outside they can never remove what we have on the inside! I challenge you to share your blessings with others in your homes, in your work, and in your church for others to see what God is doing in your life in order to recognize the momentum in the spirit of God that carries us forward…amen

  For until we learn to walk together without disputing over our positions which are determined by God we will only continue to wander in the wilderness without the direction to reach the other side…

James Harrison 

http://balancedlifeministry.org

http://specialdeliverybook.com

God Still Speaks To Us Today

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  God still speaks to us today just like He did many years ago but due to our busy schedules and shallow minds we often miss the Truth that is being shared. In order to listen for God we have to learn how to shut off the world to hear what God places in our hearts and have the maturity to apply His Word to our lives so we can actually hear the message which needs to heard.

 Shutting off the world does not mean that we are to separate ourselves from the people. For Jesus taught us how we are to live in the world but not of the world in order to spread the gospel. It is very easy to miss something of the Lord when we are not looking for His instruction and confirmations in our life to carry us forward. I challenge you today to look beyond the what you think that you see and to recognize how the Lord just wants you to believe…amen    

Job 33:14 “For God may speak in one way or in another. Yet man does not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night when deep sleep falls upon men while slumbering in their beds. Then He opens the ears of men and seals their instruction in order to turn man from his deed and conceal pride from man.”    

James Harrison

http://balancedlifeministry.org

http://specialdeliverybook.com

Natural Gifts Of God

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  One of the most important things about teaching is learning to recognize the natural strengths of each individual to help them develop their God given talents into maturity. Have you ever seen the difference between an artist that went to school to learn how to paint verses an artist that  was just born with a natural gift of God?

 Their is a distinct difference in the expression of the art between the two because you can feel the difference in the depth of the painting in the one born with the natural gift verses the one that was taught by man. It is the passion behind our goals that shows the depth of our picture in life and when we overlook those with natural gifts of God due to rules and procedures is when we so often miss what God has right before us.

 In today’s society many have become seriously blinded to the natural gifts of God in others due to their own fears and the amount of emphasis being placed on the accomplishments of man instead of seeing the accomplishments of God. It is very easy in our human nature to become blind when we place so much emphasis on the guidelines to follow along with the sins of others as the Pharisees did in the Holy Bible and Jesus warned us of this in order for us to maintain our Balance in life. The Lord gives us guidelines to follow but He also taught us how to be alert to our surroundings because we never know where God could be working next. 

 There is no better blessing in this world than to know that we played a roll in the Kingdom of God by helping His children discover who they are as child of God and develop the talents which the Lord provides to further His will and not our own. I challenge you to look beyond what you see in the physical to recognize what can take place in the spiritual to further the Kingdom of God for our children’s future…amen

 For we never know what God has right before us until we learn to look for God instead of man…

James Harrison

Balanced Life Ministry

http://balancedlifeministry.org

http://specialdeliverybook.com

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Spiritual Revelations

Don’t be like Eli in 1st Samuel and miss something that has been given by God. If you recall with Eli he did not listen because the Word of God was rare in those days and he did not recognize what was taking place until he saw the persistence of Samuel…

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