HOW I HANDLE PERSECUTION

The Bible says, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:10 NKJV)
Persecution in the bible or any where for that case, usually indicates that a person is being harrassed or annoyed in some hateful way! Over the course of my walk with and maturity in God I've come to the place where I now allow Persecution to push me further into my purpose! In fact here are a few steps that I take when facing persecution:


1. I GO INTO INTENSE PRAYER - I start out by asking God to show me what it is I need to see in myself through this painful yet purposeful process of being persecuted.Prayer gives me a peace in the midst of persecution, I'm able to handle it better when I pray!

2. I GET MOTIVATED -  (in fact while I'm typing this Blog, I'm facing some persecution, but I'm so motivated to do something radical for the Lord -- Like go out on the street corner and start a revival, I'm at work so I can't, lol); So I'm Blogging instead! Finally...

3. I TAKE ACTION.- Because of the power of prayer that brings "PEACE", I don't sit around and stress and worry about what I'm going through, I don't hang my head down, walking around moping, I don't have a pity party, why -- because I know there is a God-ordained purpose in what I'm facing. So I take the motivation and allow it be the driving force behind me doing something Impacting!  I apply it to the Ministry gift that the Lord has endowed me with and begin making a radical impact (whether it's through preaching, teaching or witnessing), I apply to my marriage, I apply to my performance at Work and I apply it to my associations/relationships (even those who are persecuting me). I use the motivation to impact every area of my life!

I pray this has helped somebody! Your comments are encouraged!


pjv

Casting Crowns - Praise you in this storm

Praise Him in Your Storm!

Michael W. Smith - Open the eyes of my heart

TRUST

I want to talk about TRUST for a moment! Trust is a major key to the survival of any Relationship! Whether it's a dating relationship, a marital relationship, a business relationship/partnership or a friendship, trust plays a HUGE role in keeping two people together. I've learned over the course of my life that even when trust is built, it sometimes has a way of being torn down! Often times this can happen because of distractions that surface outside of the relationship. These distractions can especially come in the form of other people! When people come into our lives outside of our regular relationships, it's our call as to how far we're going to let them in.

More often than not, these outsiders usually don't have the best interest of your current relationships at heart and when we let them in too far, they have a way, by way of their outside agenda of planting seeds of discord and disunity between us and our current relationships, which causes a violation of trust between us and those we presently have built trust with.

This is due to the selfishness and small mindedness of the new individual and their need for your attention outside of your current relationships. It takes a MATURE individual to show up in your life and want to add to the trust that you already have in your current relationships.

Be very careful who you allow to get close to you outside of your current relationships, because it just may be that, that person's agenda WILL be poisonous to the trust you have built with those who have come before them.

Hope this helps, I would love to hear your thoughts, God bless!

PJV

GOD'S "TEXT" MESSAGES

One of God's greatest Gifts to us is His Word (The Holy Bible), it is His Text Message to the World. A "TEXT" is described as  "1) a passage from an authoritative source providing an introduction or basis 2) a source of information or authority". The Word of God is full "text" Messages that provide insightful information for your life.

What's sad about many people is just like on their cell phones when they recieve a text they fail to hit "view" in order that they might read the text or when they do hit "view" they either fail to respond or return the text. If we're going to reap the benefits of this great information (God's text Messages) we must view and then respond! And what I love about God's text Messages, there aren't ever any viruses attached!

I want to encourage you to read your bible (God's "text" messages) and find out what He's saying to you and about you! You're life depends on God's"text" messages, there's POWER in God's "Text" Messages!  Hebrews 4:12 (NIV) says, "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart"

- pjv



DETERMINATION

Hey Everybody! I just wanted to take a moment to talk about something practical, yet powerful that I believe is of great importance in just about every area of our lives and that is this word "DETERMINATION". Although Determination is described several ways, a couple of those ways share it's definition like this: "the act of deciding definitely and firmly" and "firm or fixed intention to achieve a desired end".

I believe that when we move and act with determination our goals, dreams and visions become more clear to us and those around us. We cannot pursue anything in life and expect to see favorable results unless there is Determination involved. Determination keeps us moving forward even when there are obstacles present, it is simply a matter of not giving up even when you feel like it. Keep moving, keep pursuing and keep being determined, before you know your goal will be reached! BE ENCOURAGED!~

pjv

Why I use Sermonic Illustrations

Over in Mark 4:33-34 Jesus followed a teaching rule, the bible explains it like this...

Mark 4:33-34 (NLT) ³³ \"Jesus used many similar stories and illustrations to teach the people as much as they could understand. ³⁴ In fact, in his public ministry He never taught without using parables..."

Wow! The Method (parabolic/parables) in which Jesus used to convey His messages kept people from getting lost in their comprehension of what was being taught.That's called being "Relevant" when you can take everyday life resources, situations and circusmtances and give a picturesque illustration to make plain the Word of God. As a Preacher/Teacher of the Gospel, I too try to follow this rule. I believe it is one of the most effective ways to inform people about what God has said in His Word and His plan for their lives. 

It was also a method that gave people hope beyond their current circumstances. The Method that Jesus used to communicate the Good News, should be a lead example for every Communicator of the Gospel. I know it is for me.


~ Pastor V.

GIVE BACK THIS CHRISTMAS

Share the Greatest Gift  ever given this Christmas, JESUS CHRIST, the true Reason for theSeason!

 

John 3:16 (NKJV) "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life"



WHEN SHOULD I WORSHIP?

For far too long as far back as the Bible days, people have fought  and debated over which Day of the week was appropriate for Corporate Public Worship, some argue Sunday, some argue Saturday and others say another day. Well, I've always been under the conviction that anyday you choose to set aside time for Corporate Worship, Appreciation, Praise unto God is always an Appropriate day (although my choice to gather for Corporate Worship is "the First Day of the Week" also known as "The Lord's Day") as was followed by many first Century Christians.

However, I have concluded as well that if at any time you make a Purposeful decision to gather for corporate Worship it is always an appropriate time, and I'm convinced of this based off of how the Apostle Paul addresses this very Issue over in ROMANS 14:5-6 (NLT), (spotlighting verse #6) where the Apostle Paul says,  "In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced that whichever day you choose is acceptable. 6 Those who worship the Lord on a special day do it to honor him"

So whatever Day you decide to set aside for Corporate Worship is appropriate as long as it's a Day of Sanctity unto God. If so we should stop criticizing and judging others when they decide to Worship on a day that we don't. It's all about GOD!



PJV

CHRISTIAN CONNECTION

One of the most difficult things that I see many Christians struggling to do is "CONNECT" with other Christians. Many of them have a normal and regular routine: they come into the Church find a seat, some participate in the worship experience, they join in the singing, they give an offering, they enjoy themselves and are blessed through the preached Message. They then get up make eye contact with a few people, some may say goodbye to a few folks on their way out the door to their cars, but one thing for sure they seldom or never stop to fellowship and connect with others that attended the Worship Experience that day.

Well, I'm by no means bashing, criticizing or judging those who have trouble with connecting with other believers, but I do want to be an encouragement to those who do. In Acts 2:42 we read that one of the four things the early church devoted AND committed itself to was "FELLOWSHIP". Fellowship and Christian Connection was a very important part of their reason for meeting together. It was one of their objectives. Here are a few benefits that come as a result of True Biblical Fellowship and Christian Connection:

God never intended Christianity to be an isolated lifestyle. The Bible teaches us that beleivers as Christ-Followers need each other for many reasons and it starts with us understanding that we are "one body in Christ over in 1st Corinthians 12:12-17.

HERE ARE SOME GREAT BENEFITS: 1) Christian Connection allows Christians to minister to and motivate one another - Fellowshipping with other believers provide the perfect context and setting for Christians to minister  to and motivate another by serving and being served. Hebrews 10:24 (NLT) says "Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works"


2) Christian Connection encourages other Christians in their faith -  When we Connect with other Christians we strengthen each other's faith. In his letter to the Romans, Paul taught us that when we see the faith in another believer, it encourages us in our own faith. Romans 1:12 "When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours"

3) Christian Connection provides Comfort and Compassion - the bible share with us over in 2nd Corinthians 1:4 (NLT) "He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us"

4) Christian Connection Provides a context for Accountability - Proverbs 27:17 shares with us... "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another"

5) Christian Connection is encourages Christians to Pray for one another -  James 5:16a. (NLT) says, "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed..."

I pray that this Blog on Christian Connection would encourage and motivate you to connect with other beleivers that you might experience Community and Fellowship as you partner with those of like Faith.


PJV