I Have Never Seen A Storm Last Forever,

In life we may feel shipwrecked, we may feel that our storm resembles a tornado, earthquake or hurricane. We are tossed and turned in every direction and it seem like our whole world has fallen apart in a pile of mess and debris surrounded by the stress and demands of everyday life. Remember you can reach the port if you weather the storm. No one is exempt from the turbulence, bumps & discomfort that come with the storms of life. Your best stories will come from your struggles. I have never seen a storm last forever, keep standing. "Sometimes God calms the storm, but sometimes God lets the storm rage and calms His child". When it's all over, you are still standing because when God see that your storms are raging and tossing high, He will say "Peace Be Still" in the midst of your storm, He will carry you through.

You Cannot Possess The Fruits of the Spirit If You have No Roots! Check Your Soil.

You cannot possess the fruits of the spirit if you have no roots! check your soil.  Is your soil rich, poor, fertile or infertile soil,  do you hear the word, accept it, show God's love and produce followers of Christ?  Soil texture and soil structure are both unique properties of the soil that will have a profound effect on the behavior of the soil. The same is with the fruits of the spirit.  If you apply the fruits of the spirit to your everyday life it will have a profound effect on your behavior and others. If the fruits of the spirit are not present, then how can the Holy Spirit be present?  A person must have a willing heart to change in order for God to use them. Before you can bear the fruit of the Spirit, you must first have the LIFE of the Spirit. When you find yourself in Christ Jesus, you have found your life.
Galatians 5:22.

Finding A Church That Is "A Perfect" Fit.

Every church has something that's not quite right.  Too short.  Too long. Too big. Too small, Too tight. Too loose. These words describe most of the clothes I try on. Finding the perfect fit seems impossible.  Finding a church that is a "perfect fit " poses similar problems. Our gifts aren't recognized.  Our talents aren't appreciated. Our sense of humor is misunderstood.  Certain attitudes, beliefs, people, or programs makes us uncomfortable.  We feel as if we don't fit.  We struggle to find our place.  We know, however, that God wants us to fit together with one another, for there to be no divisions in His church. This means that we, the building blocks are to be "perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." (1 Corinthians 1:10). No church will be a perfect fit, but we can all work at fitting together more perfectly.
Christ's love creates unity in the midst of diversity.

Christ, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.  Ephesians 2:21

When Facing A Crisis, This Is What God Ask Us To Do

God didn't ask us to try and figure out anything, what He did say is "Trust Him" in everything.  When facing a crisis, trust God and move forward. God's dawn of deliverance often comes when the hour of trial is darkest. Every season needs faith to get us through it and every crisis need us to rely on God to carry us through. We do a disservice to ourselves and others when we portray the Christian life as peaceful and happy all the time.  Instead, the Bible portrays the believers life as consisting of seasons of ups and downs. There will be crisis in and out of season but there God will be all the time; TRUST HIM.

 

Solomon's father, David, was called a "man after God's own heart" (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22).  Yet David's life illustrates how life is filled with seasons of ups and downs.  David wept over Bathsheba's first child who was fatally ill (2nd Samuel 12:22).  Yet he wrote songs of praise and joyous laughter. Psalm 126:1-3).

Blessings

J.P. Olson