Monday March 28, 2011

"LOVE" of Money!

1 Timothy 6:9-10

⁹ But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

Money, Faith and our relationship with the Lord can often get sticky when our relationship with Him is not first in our lives.  We need money to eat, clothe and provide shelter for ourselves and our loved ones.  Also, the Lord wants us to have plenty and no where in the Bible does it say we aren't suppose to be rich in wealth.  The problem begins with a desire.  A desire to acquire wealth for the wrong reasons.  Often times we cloud our desires with what we think the Lord wants for our lives and we find ourselves caught in a snare or trap that takes us off course.  There is nothing wrong with having a lot of money, the problem lies within a single word, "LOVE".  The love of money is one of the enemies greatest traps.  

I can speak from experience, my inner drive to be "rich", clouded my judgement between right and wrong.  I put making money in front of my faith, my family and then my character.  Obviously it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure I did a lot of damage to myself and those around me.  We must keep Christ first.  When we don't, we find ourselves in the enemies whirlpool of destruction quickly.  We must remember money is not bad but the "love" of money IS!  

I have found that the greatest way to become "rich" in every area of my life is to walk and talk with my Lord & Savior daily and even hourly.  If we want to see the depth of God's Love for our lives, step out of your comfort zone for Him and watch God take you on a journey that you couldn't of imagined for your life.  Do what you know and watch God glorify you in ways you couldn't imagine.  He wants us to trust Him.  Give Him the first minutes of your day and the first portion of your pay and show him that He is the most important thing in your life and watch the inner peace well up within you and spill out onto those around you.  The sooner we realize it is all His and it's only on loan, the sooner we can walk within His "will" and "purpose" for our lives.  God bless all of you.

I want to thank all of you for your support and for starting your day with a "Cup of God's Coffee".

Godspeed,

James Boening

Sunday March 27, 2011

Clouded Thoughts!

Galatians 5:22-23

²² But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control.....

I'm not even sure this verse is what this will be about.  I just love to know we have been given all of these things through and from the Spirit of our Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ.

My thoughts seem to be jumpy and unfocused.  I normally pray, read some scripture and the thoughts flow like a stream straight from the Lord.  I rarely have to think about the next sentence or how to begin or end.  Today is different, I find myself in a place of  unsettling with something on the home front and battle with giving it over to the Lord.  It's always difficult to see someone you love, hurt or doing the hurting.  I guess it's even more difficult when both happen.  It's easy to teach or write when your own mind isn't in a whirlwind of darting thoughts and emotions.  Once again we must remember, as children of God, He will give us opportunities to allow His grace and strength to be sufficient, because when we rely on ourselves to persevere or take something head on without the Lord leading the way it can not and will not end in a way that will Glorify the Lord.  I have a saying that I know is not mine but I use often:  when in doubt, PRAY!  Spend time with Lord let Him heal the hurt, let Him wrap His arms around us and see us through, let Him carry us when we can't see where to go from here.  When we do this, I promise we will find a peace that no other can supply, we can and will Glorify God by surrendering our lives to Him.  Remember this, for all of us parents out there; when our own children are hurting or in need, don't we come to there need and want good for them.  Our heavenly Father is no different, except His love is far more unconditional and far more transcending than we can really grasp.  If this seems a little clouded or all over the place, its because I feel exactly that way.  May the Lord cover us in His Spirit and send His Angels down to protect us and fight the battle we can not see but know it's there.  

Remember what the Spirit produces and remember how much He Loves Us.  Thank goodness He loves us and thank goodness nothing can pluck us from His hand. 

I want to thank all of you for your support and for starting your day with a "Cup of God's Coffee".

Godspeed,

James Boening

Saturday March 26, 2011

CHILD or ADULT?

1 Corinthians 13:11

¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.

This scripture seems so basic.  Here on earth we have given an age for infants, children, teens and as my wife and I say, a man child for the early twenties.  We set expectations and allow for mishaps at certain ages in our children's lives according to the earthly age.  We also expect our children to leave the childish things behind and become responsible adults. 

I'm sure I can speak for most of us when I say; we would not be happy or find it very acceptable if our children at the age of twenty something were playing with dolls or any type of childish toys and still living at home.  Just as disappointing as we would find this for our own children, God is telling us in this scripture the same thing.

The beauty of our relationship with the Lord is not age driven.  You could be seventy and find Christ and accept Him as your Lord & Savior (not that I suggest that), but God is always there and waiting for us to join His family.  At that moment we become an infant in our relationship in Christ.  Some of us mature quicker and some of us, like myself are hard headed and take a longer bumpier road.  We must remember this verse and ask ourselves what childish things are we holding onto that are stopping us from becoming a grown-up in Christ.  Remember just as our children are always born into our families and no matter what age they become, they are always are children.  The same is with our Lord & Savior, once we are reborn in Spirit through Him we will always be His and He wants for us to leave the childish things behind and become grown-ups.  The sooner we come to Him and give our lives to His service the sooner we can become mature in the word and teach and help others become adults in Christ.  

We should and are called to go out into the world and bring the word and love all as Christ loved us.  The only way to do this is to leave are childish things behind.

I want to thank all of you for your support and for starting your day with "God's Cup of Coffee".

Godspeed,

James Boening

Sunday March 20, 2011

God's Plan (Often Complicated)

John 6:70

⁷⁰ Then Jesus said, “I chose the twelve of you, but one is a devil.”

This would be hard to understand if we didn't know the end of the story.  Jesus was so at one with God (He was God), in the flesh that he  knew God's plan, will and purpose for his life.  Can you imagine being so connected to the Father that you could make the decision to choose the one person that would betray you and bring you to your death?  Could you imagine not just choosing him but bringing him into your inner circle, teaching him and treat him the same as the others?  

For all of us battling something or trying to figure out why this person or situation is going on in our life?  I say this;  It's very difficult for us to have the connection with the Father as Jesus did while here on earth. I won't say it's impossible, but difficult.  Because of our lack of unshakable connection to God, He loves us too much for us to wander into a direction not of His will.  His plan is so much bigger than today's circumstance or situation.  We must hold tight to His promises and the unconditional LOVE He has for us.  We must remember He knows the end of the story for each one of our lives.  He knows how and what the ripple effect of this circumstance or situation will be for the good of His great plan for our lives.  

It's no different with a mother or father allowing one of their children to fall down when learning to ride a bike, we know that they won't severely get hurt but we also know that they will learn a lesson that you can get hurt riding a bike and that's why you must be careful.  This may seem trivial to the situations we find ourselves in as adults, but I promise God is just trying to teach us something.  The sooner we stop and find the reason why, the sooner God can glorify us for His plan.

It's sad to me that it took so long for me to realize in my own life the amazing truth in this song and video I've attached.  It's not a world of me!

I also want my wife to know how much I love her and that God has a plan for both of us and His plan is greater than we could ever dream.  I will love you for eternity.

I want thank all of you for your support and for starting your day with "God's Cup of Coffee".

Godspeed,

James Boening

Thursday March 17, 2011

Calling All Parents!

1 Corinthians 10:13

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

Ephesians 6:10-12

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

I want to say don't stop praying God is listening and does answer prayer.  We must pray for our children diligently and without seizing.  The enemy has never been stronger.  

Once again in my life, God gave me a gift the eve before my sons 16th birthday.  I have been praying earnestly over both my boys that their eyes be opened to the evil around them and for the Holy Spirit to consume them and burn in the belly of their stomach.  

I don't know if any of you know what the "Illuminati" is?  It is a satanic cult that is rampant in Hollywood, Actors, Music Industry, high profile Athletes and our Government.  I won't get into all the details but I urge you to research this.

Recently my son was exposed to this at school and started to look at what it was all about.  He didn't think it was cool but thought it might be funny to use some of their hand signs as a joke.  Well needless to say we explained to him that you don't joke with these kinds of things and he agreed but probably thought we were over reacting.  Well a couple of weeks went by and my prayers become more intense for his eyes to be opened.  God is good, I came home last night and he was showing all the evil that was really behind this cult and said these words to me, "Every where I look I SEE IT".  I nearly broke down on the inside and just thanked God for His faithfulness and greatness.  My son is running in the opposite direction and his eyes have been opened.  

I tell you this story for two reasons:  take the time to talk to your kids and understand their struggles and the unbelievable attack they are under and two, pray for your children, God is listening.

I want to say Happy Birthday to my son and thank him for his commitment to the lord.

I want to thank all of you for your support and for starting your day with a "Cup of God's Coffee".

Sunday March 6, 2011

Words of Encouragement

Philippians 4:4-9

⁴ Always be full of joy in the Lord.  I say it again—rejoice!  ⁵ Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do.  Remember, the Lord is coming soon. 

 ⁶ Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  ⁷ Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

 ⁸ And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing.  Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.  Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.  ⁹ Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing.  Then the God of peace will be with you. 

So often we can get caught up in how we may be getting treated and respond in a worldly way and not in a Godly way.  The enemy wants nothing more than for us to retaliate a wrong for a wrong.  He wants us to worry about the economic times we live in.  He wants our minds on the chaos of the world.  Distractions, mishaps, confusion, misfortune and anything that can pull our thoughts away from our heavenly Father.

The only way to truly accomplish God's peace is to bath in the Lord CONSTANTLY (without ceasing).  If we trust Him, really trust Him we can and should repeat the scripture above and know He knows what we can endure and what He has in store for us on the other side of the tribulation we may find ourselves in.

To live in God's Peace:

1.  Always have joy in the Lord--Rejoice.

2.  Be considerate to everyone regardless of statue.

3.  Remember the Lord is coming soon.

4.  Don't worry about anything, instead pray always.

5.  Tell Him what you need & thank Him for what you have.

6.  Put all your thoughts on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent & worthy of praise.

DO THESE THINGS AND GOD'S PEACE WILL CONSUME YOU AND ALWAYS BE WITH YOU!

I want to thank all of you for your support and for starting your day with "God's Cup of Coffee".

Godspeed,

James Boening

Thursday March 3, 2011

A Spiritual Vaccine

I am not going to quote scripture today for one reason.  I would like to get your feedback frrom scripture from all of you that you find relevant to what I am talking about this morning.  You can email me @ jamesboening@att.net or post directly on the Blog.

A spiritual vaccine is no different than the vaccines we receive to help our bodies fight back harmful and deadly viruses.  I urge that all the parents that read this today to listen closely and pass this on to all parents.  We must give our kids a spiritual vaccine before we send them out into the world.  Obviously we can't give them a shot, however that would sure be nice.  A spiritual vaccine is done over time.  We must take the time to educate, communicate, love and give our children opportunities to show us their responsible.  Often times we put a lock on the door to the room.  We make sure their in church on Wednesday and Sundays and put them only in a controlled environments.  Life lessons are learned early.  having our children in church is important and building a relationship with their Lord & Savior is crucial to their success.  Hear me out when I say, as parents our kids learn more from us and how we act and handle situations.  We have a huge responsibility to prepare them for the worlds fury.  The enemies playground.  The spiritual vaccine has so many different layers that I want to write about this in depth and get our children ready for battle.  I have so many different things that I can't wait to talk about.  the greatest gift we could ever give our children is a Spiritual Vaccine......to be continued..

I want to thank all of you for your support and for starting your day with "God's Cup of Coffee".

Would you send your child into a third world country filled with an out break of malaria, without the vaccine?  Do you really want to send your child into the enemies world without a spiritual vaccine?

Godspeed,

James Boening