A Thanksgiving Message: God Uses Imperfect People Thanksgiving is upon us once more. I am thankful for God's love and His mercy. I am thankful that He uses imperfect people like me. It is a fact that most of us set our goals in life too low. This usually isn't from being lazy as much as it is from not having enough confidence in ourselves. We think that we aren't good enough to try to accomplish bigger and better goals. We worry about what is lacking in us, instead of capitalizing on what good qualities we do possess. We worry about what we have done wrong in the past, instead of planning for what we could do right in the future. We worry about what people will think or say if we do or don't do this or that. Hey, you! Wake up! Isn't it time we got our minds off ourselves and onto God? Quit concentrating on what you CAN'T do and start concentrating on what God CAN do. We have limitations, but God does not. We cannot give up (or even fail to try at all) when our fear of failure paralyzes us. If it were left up to our abilities alone, nothing would be ever be accomplished. And if it were left up to God alone, even then nothing would be accomplished. Why? Because God wants to accomplish His will through you and through me. He does not want to wave a magic wand and make everything just fall into place. God has a plan. He has certain goals that He wants to be accomplished according to His will. And we are part of His plan. We are the agents in His plan to do His work by functioning as His hands, His feet, His eyes, His mouth, etc. It does not matter how inadequate we think we are. When God tells us to do something, He will provide all the resources necessary to accomplish His will. I am thankful to have the privilege and the responsibility of being a part of God's plan. What about you? Do you feel that you have anything for which to thank God? Only through studying the Bible can we understand God's promises, His abilities, and His love for us. Come to Sunday School to learn more about God's promises and learn how to be thankful. Don't worry about having confidence in yourself. Instead, have confidence in God and you will find a lot more for which to be thankful. Jeff Nape The articles on the home page rotate. Click here to go to a permanent link for this article. God... Who are you? Still Struggling? Spiritual Growth PLAYING: Brand New Day ©David Michael Carpenter (external link) Tiger In My Tank: His Wonderful Light I have always believed that every member of the body of Christ has a responsibility to grow spiritually. Every Christian must study the Bible and pray, and then put into action what the Spirit of God has revealed to him through that study and prayer. Christianity is active, not passive. But some people don't give much thought or effort to growing spiritually. That is the minister's job. Let the minister take care of the messy issues. Let the minister take care of the conflicts. They think we hire a minister to alleviate ourselves of our own spiritual responsibilities and duties. I do not believe that the Bible is "over our heads" and contains information that only a minister can use. I do not believe that prayer is just some mystical nonsense, so only a minister should rely on it. We are all called to be ministers of God, although we may not all have a Bible degree and title. "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." (1 Peter 2:9-10) When I write these articles, I assume that every reader has the desire to become a minister of God, and every reader is looking for training to become a minister. I also assume that each reader knows absolutely nothing, but is capable of learning absolutely everything. What does that mean? I must provide some milk (or soft food) for the babes in Christ. But I must also provide some meat (or solid food) for those babes to work toward and for the mature Christians who can already digest solid food. (Hebrews 5:12-14) How can our church mature? Don't be passive. Be active. Do not abandon your responsibilities and duties as a Christian by reassigning your responsibilities to someone else. Don't moan. Don't whine. And don't just chant, "I wish things could get better... I wish things could get better..." Instead, truly pray. Communicate with God and face the messy issues and conflicts head on. Set aside your soft food and reach for something solid. Be a Bible student! Be a prayer warrior!! And be a minister of God!!! Jeff Nape The articles on this page rotate. Click here for the permanent link for this article. A Higher Calling Men, Women, Seasonal Fellowship & Witnessing jeffnape.com Bipolar Tag I created a site that deals with bipolar disorder, jeffnape.com. Below is the contents for the page titled "Bipolar Tag". Opening Thoughts        Introduction to this Mood Disorder        Origins of Bipolar Disorder What’s in a Word?        Precision of Language        Depression and Bipolar Disorder        Describing and Evaluating Behavior A Matter of Balance        Good Versus Bad, Parts Versus the Whole        My Magnificence        Touched by the Disease Naughty, or Just Plain Nasty?        Fun and Games        Interchangeable Parts        No Shame Here No Rules or New Rules?        Note from Home        Initiative        Phase of Treatment You’re Not the Only One with Problems        A Challenge        Heading Toward Mental Wellness        The Real Truth        So Who’s Perfect? Did you see anything that piqued your curiosity? Visit jeffnape.com and read Bipolar Tag. PLAYING: Brand New Day ©David Michael Carpenter Dave is a composer/musician from Vancouver B.C., Canada. He really has a heart for leading others to Christ. And for encouraging those who are already Christians to deepen their faith and their relationship with God. Sharing his love for Christ is what his music is all about. He has written the songs on five CD's and performs all the instruments, guitars, bass, drums, vocals, and keyboards, plus all the engineering, recording, production, and artwork. This is very different, intensely personal stuff. You can't find a better friend and brother than in Dave. Listen to David Michael Carpenter's music at dmcsongs.com. Top Radically Free! Quenching the Flames Excerpts from radicallyfree.com by Jeff Nape (external links) Embrace the gift of God's grace. Bless you Christian...come find yourself...truly...you are only waiting to embrace the gift of God's grace to do so...take a risk and grasp it with both hands... Salvation is Simple. Just dive in! You sit and justify both sides of the issue until you can't make up your mind. Might as well be sitting beside a swimming pool, "too cold, too cold," you say every time you stick your toe in the water. Just dive in, and be surprised at life! Love:The Greatest Commandment. Free falling Sometimes you can't get the flood of images and thoughts to stop washing over and through you. You have to throw caution to the wind and just let yourself fall. Yes there is a time when you must simply free fall. You will fall into the hands of a God of love. The Spirit of Life Set Me Free. Let go! Still trying to experience the leading of the Holy Spirit? Then let go of the steering wheel with both hands! Stop controlling and let the Holy Spirit keep you on course! Indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the answer! As we live for Christ, we will be used by Him to help others come to the same conclusion that we have: that Jesus is the answer. God's Spirit is Moving. Visit Radically Free! Quenching the Flames Top www.HisLoveShines.com All articles on this site written by Jeffrey L. Nape Site Map