PRIME TIME WITH GOD: CONVICTION

"For we know, brothers loved by God, that He has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction." - 1 Thessalonians 1:4-5a

This is not only for the workplace but also the home and your personal life as you walk in God's grace.

Everyone lives a life of conviction. Whatever we give our greatest time, our greatest energies, and our greatest resources to is a good indication of where our convictions lie. Some live a life of conviction about sports. Some live a life of conviction around pleasure. Still others live a life of conviction about very little that matters at all.

Whenever God chooses to do a deep work in a life, a strong conviction is born of the Holy Spirit. Conversions in the early Church resulted in changed lives that held to a deep, life-transforming conviction regarding what they believed and how they lived out that belief. Paul explains that the gospel they received came not just in words, but also in power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.

In order to impact the workplace for Jesus Christ, each of us must be reflecting a faith that is demonstrated through deeply held convictions. Are you living a life of deep conviction that spurs you on to reflect the power of Christ in your life and the lives of others? Paul was willing to suffer great persecution for his faith in a living God. God calls each of us to a life that is supernatural, not simply a good, moral life. The early Church understood the role the Holy Spirit played in demonstrating this power of the gospel. It was this deep work that resulted in living the gospel with great conviction. If you are not living the gospel with great conviction, ask the Holy Spirit to so fill your life today that the power of His Spirit is truly reflected in your life so that you may impact others in your workplace.

By O. Hillman

PRIME TIME WITH GOD: BITTERNESS

This is one area that I have really fallen into a trap. In my own personal experience, it can turn you away from the one who loves you the most ( God).

"See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many." - Hebrews 12:15

In business and life the opportunity to harbor bitterness for a wrong suffered is great. We are given plenty of opportunities to grow bitter from relationships that bring hurt and pain. The writer of the Hebrews passage above admonishes us not to miss the grace of God so that we won't take up bitterness as a response to life's pain. He cautions us against this because he knows that a bitter root grows and grows until it eventually defiles many others through a wake of bitterness. If bitterness is allowed to take root, we become imprisoned to it. God's grace will no longer have as great an effect in our lives. We become ineffective, insensitive, and spiritually dead. We can even become physically ill from it. God does not live in bitterness. He lives in grace. He has provided grace for every person to walk in.

One day I was challenged to deal with an individual who hurt me terribly. I was faced with a decision. Would I choose bitterness, or would I choose grace? Oh, how my natural tendency was to choose bitterness. But God provided the courage to choose grace. With that grace came freedom - a freedom to love and even accept the person who was the source of such pain.
This is the real place where Christ's power is most revealed. We cannot live without His supernatural grace. Are you in need of grace today? It is there for the receiving. It will take courage to accept it and walk in it. This will be your step to freedom.

By O. Hillman

MORE PRIME TIME WITH GOD

An interesting article I found on Prime time with God.

I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection...." - Philippians 3:10 P

If I asked you the purpose for which God made you, what might you say? You might give a lot of answers that required some action on your part. However, the simplest answer to that question relates to one primary thing: fellowship. The most important thing God desires from us today is to have a deep and intimate fellowship with each of us.

The apostle Paul said he wanted to know Christ, and by knowing Christ he could experience the power of His resurrection. I find this to be the hardest thing for many of us workplace believers to do. So often it is much easier to be busy with the urgent (or even Christian) activity than spending quiet moments before the Lord. Before we realize it, days have passed since our last quiet time with Jesus.

Jesus understood how important quiet moments were with the Father. "After He had dismissed them, He went up on a mountainside by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone" (Mt. 14:23).

The more mature I become in my relationship with the Lord, the more precious this time becomes to me. It is a time I look forward to almost daily. It offers me a time to reflect, to share my concerns with my Lord, and to hear Him speak. In the last few years I have begun prayer walks, which accomplish three things: fellowship, prayer, and exercise. It has changed my prayer life. I have come to understand that Jesus views us as His friend and He wants to spend time with us. We are depriving Him of His time when we put Him aside for the urgent. An interesting thing happens when we make prayer a priority: Urgent things seem to wane as we focus on Him. He makes all these other things fall into place.

Are you taking the time to get to know Him today?

AM I IN A TOXIC CHURCH?

Am I the only one that sees some thing amiss in some churches today? Do you go weekly and never meet any one new? Do you try to meet others yourself only to be ignored? As one blogger once mentioned "I pass out my phone number to others but never get a call to have coffee or they say they will call you some time but never do."Another blogger I read on another site mentioned every one is so busy serving or involved in activities that they never seem to have time just to talk.

Granted in today's society our time is so pressed that free time is virtually non existent. It seems fellowship is an obsolete principle. So one decides to get to know people by joining a bible study group or volunteer to do services in the church. Ok that is going to get you the opportunity to meet others and share in your faith. Well that really doesn't happen frequently. I will give you some examples.

I joined the greeter group in this one church. Every one seemed to kinda stay to their selves and didn't really go around and introduce themselves to the ones that were new greeters. Actually I was ignored. So I though I would go around and introduce my self to every one in the group. I did this for three weeks only to over hear a person say to others gathered "Who is that guy going around to all of us saying Hi! I am Mickey Mouse." Some seemed to have a laugh about it . I was really hurt thus I quit that group of servers. Not easily discouraged, the wife and I decided to join a bible study group. It was led by a truly devout leader but none of the members of the group were at all friendly and kept to their own group of friends. The wife and I actually felt we were not welcome thus we quit going.

We decided to enroll in some classes over a period of time and it was the same fiasco. Every one seemed to stay in their own click groups and actually were not very friendly. If you saw them before or after a service they would completely ignore you as if they didn't know you. Now let me say every one is not like this there as we have had some contact with maybe one or two people but it is rather only in passing that they will speak. Perhaps it is the way churches operate now but wasn't like that in the past when we attended churches years back. We always gained some friends that kept in contact. Perhaps it is an age thing. This church seems to have very few older folks our age ( 65) as it appears to be younger oriented.

Perhaps it is a social/ economic situation. This church seems to be well heeled and operates on an expensive budget that only members with substantial incomes can afford to tithe properly can support. Being retired now and with high medical bills, the income is rather limited so I might not fit in considering. Being a believer of most of the spiritual gifts, I do practice what I call the involuntary poverty gift so we may not live in the best part of town. Perhaps that is it.

Considering the wife really enjoys all the bells, flashing lights, and the rocking music this church offers, I go along with her desires to attend this church but I am really bothered when she is hurt or ignored by those that she tries to meet. I really hope some day she sees the light and desires to move on to a more friendly church filled with the Holy Spirit and practices fellowship as dictated in scriptures.

To be honest I get more fellowship in sharing my faith on blog sites such as Abundant Living, Fire and Grace, Kingdom Bloggers, and other sites than I do at the church I now attend. That is sad and not following one of the things God has led me to do. How ever, I have met many great people by sharing my faith on the Internet blog sites and will continue to share my faith with you as long as the Lords words can make a difference in your life through my testimonials and articles.

What have your experiences been at some churches?

LOST AND ABANDONED

Oh dear Lord. I am wandering about in a desolate desert thirsting for the living waters you offer but I can find none. I feel lost and abandoned. My prayers go unanswered. Your loving grace eludes me. I do not hear your comforting voice. There is no cool shade to comfort me. Truly I will perish if I cannot find my way back to your grace.

I am sure a few of us (as well as I) have been in this position at one time or another in our walk with the Lord. In the desert we are cut off entirely with God to wander aimlessly to realize the importance of a close relationship with God. However as it was with Jesus, you will have a tempter that will offer you the world if you will only worship him. He will promise you living waters and comfort and the temptation to fall back into sin is always ever present. The tempting to give up on your faith as a waste of time is always on your mind. You then begin to think your friends at church are not really your friends. Don't fall into the trap. You are being swayed by the prince of darkness ( Satan) whose domain is the desert.

Those that are strong in their faith and unwavering will overcome the desert and the temptations. Just as Jesus replied to Satan with his trials in the desert, so must we also do the same in order to return to God's grace, taste the living waters, and feel his love once again. For those that are weak in faith, this will be a more difficult time but you can still overcome all temptations by keeping your heart and eyes on the ultimate goal. God's grace and love that promises so much more for you into eternity. God can hear your thoughts, Satan can't. Yet Satan can talk to you in your thoughts, he cannot hear what is in your heart. That is where you can overcome all trials and tribulations and receive God's blessings through your walk in the desert.

Put your faith in the Lord and let His word comfort you in your trials through the desert and you will also be able to overcome all obstacles.

Dear Lord. I come before you humbly to confess of my sins and beg for forgiveness. Help guide me through my walk in my life so that I may serve you and exalt Your holy name to all that will listen. Grant me the courage and faith to endure hardships, persecution, and temptations so that I am in Jesus as Jesus is in you. In Jesus name, amen.

MORE PRIME TIME WITH GOD

"It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering." - Genesis 41:52

Joseph named his second son Ephraim. Ephraim was given to him after he had been delivered from his suffering of 13 years. Joseph said that he named him this because God had made him fruitful in the land of his suffering. Ephraim means "twice fruitful."

Joseph was fruitful in two instances. He was fruitful during his time of adversity and in his prosperity. When God brings us into a time of suffering, it can be a fruitful time. It's rare for us to see the fruit during the suffering period. But know that the roots are going deep into the spiritual soil of our soul because of our pressing in to God during our time of suffering. This is producing a work in our character that cannot be seen until it finishes the process. Such was the case for Joseph.

It was not until several years after such a time of suffering that I began to see the fruit of the trials that the Lord allowed me to experience. How grateful I am to understand some of the "why" that has led to a new life in Him that I would never have had without this period.
Samson had great anointing but lacked character. We see many today who have great anointing yet lack character. But God is rising up Josephs who not only have great anointing for these days but also great character. Suffering produces character.

If you find yourself in a time of suffering, now is the time to press into God. Let your roots grow deeper. Whenever there is a famine, tree roots are forced to drive deeper into the soil to find water. These times are designed to create such a deep-rooted faith that our natures will be changed forever.

By O. Hillman

MESSAGES FROM PRIME TIME WITH GOD

Few men of God have become extraordinary people of faith without the influence of mentors. A mentor is one who takes responsibility for the spiritual and, sometimes, physical care of another. It requires a commitment from the teacher and the student.

Elijah mentored Elisha. Elisha became one of the greatest prophets in the entire Bible. One of the primary reasons for this was Elisha's hunger. Elisha wanted a double portion of Elijah's spirit. It was this hunger that drove Elisha to be sold out to God's purposes for his life.

I have been privileged to have had many mentors throughout my spiritual life. In each stage of my maturity, God brought new mentors who had unique gifts that the previous mentor did not have. God has given me the hunger to desire a double portion of those positive attributes of my mentors. This desire is sorely missing among many today. I fail to see the hunger among many who could be used greatly in the Kingdom. Instead, the cares of this world distract them. It is an attitude of a la carte versus an attitude of pressing in to the full measure of what God might have for them.

Who are the people of God He has placed in your life? Are you learning from them? Are you seeking a double portion of their anointing? What prevents you from gaining from their wisdom and experience? God may have brought them into your life to prepare you to be a man or woman of God with great anointing. However, there is a time of training and waiting to prove out your own faith. Ask God today if there is someone He would have you mentor or be mentored by.

When is the last time God did something in your work life that can only be explained as God? Was it yesterday? Was it just last week? A month ago? A year ago? The answer to this question may mean several things. If it has been some time since you saw God's activity in such a way that you know it was His hand, you may not be trusting to a level that requires faith. You may not be risking enough for God to show Himself.

The converts in the early Church changed the world they lived in because of what they saw and heard. It was the power of the gospel that changed lives, not what they learned from mere teaching. This power drew people to Christ. Things happened that could not be explained as anything other than the activity of God. Is that the kind of faith you are experiencing in your life? Many of us live a wholesome, moral life, but those we associate with do not see this activity as anything that cannot also be achieved by themselves. That is why many are not drawn to our lives. God's power is not evident. The Lord has been challenging me to trust Him at levels I have never trusted before. This level of trust has placed me in a vulnerable position. However, the blessing of this relationship is that I see the activity of God as never before, and those close to me see it as well. It builds their faith and draws others to investigate.

Sometimes the activity of God comes in unusual ways. God often sets up scenes that appear to be negative on the front end, but God has orchestrated these events for His glory.

-Without Pharaoh's pursuit of Israel at the Red Sea, there is no miraculous deliverance.
-Without Lazarus's death, there is no rising to life.
-Without Goliath, there is no underdog story.
-Without Peter stepping out of the boat, there is no miracle on the water.
-Without Judas' betrayal, there is no resurrection.

God wants to show Himself in ways you and I cannot imagine. Let God demonstrate His power in your workplace today. Then, you will see "all men drawn unto Me."

Articles I found inspiring by O. Hillman.