James 1:12Notes From the Pastor's Desk #notesfromthepastorsdesk 📖James 1:12 (ESV) Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. 📘Pastor's Note: Trials in life will come. We should expect them, not be surprised by them. God sovereignly allows trials to perfect us in the faith. Understanding that, we can look at them as the gracious refinement of God. We are to remain steadfast in them knowing that the crown of life awaits the refined saint just as He promised. Are trials easy? No. Does that mean we endure it with a smile on our face? Not necessarily. But we are to approach it with a steadfast attitude knowing we are like gold heated by fire and being made more pure. In other words, God has a purpose for allowing us to experience trials and if He allows it, it is to our benefit. Be blessed. Endure. Be refined. Stay steadfast. And await the crown of life! 🙏I'm praying for you always. ❤️ Pastor Jamie 📖Read the Chapter: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James%201&version=ESV Click here to learn more about The Grace Place Church  Hebrews 13:20-21Notes From the Pastor's Desk #notesfromthepastorsdesk 📖Hebrews 13:20-21 (ESV)20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. 📘Pastor's Note: Isn't this a beautiful benediction from the writer of Hebrews? The God of peace, who sacrificed His only Son, the Great Shepherd, whose blood has brought us into a redeemed relationship with Him, equips us with everything good to do His will. "Equip" here means to prepare, to complete, to restore. He provides all things necessary for us to carry out His divine purposes. He chooses to use and equip us as clay vessels to make known Christ, the only Hope of salvation, to lost, sinful man. What a privilege and honor we have to serve the Redeemer of man's souls. And that He doesn't leave us to figure it out on our own, that He personally prepares each of us to carry out His divine plan, speaks volumes of our purpose as Christians. Praise Him, honor Him, glorify Him with your life as He uses you to shine His greatness to the lost world. Praying that we are fulfilling our God-given purposes to further the Kingdom of God. 🙏I'm praying for you always. ❤️ Pastor Jamie 📖Read the Chapter: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%2013&version=ESV Click here to learn more about The Grace Place Church  Psalm 143:5-6 (ESV)Notes From the Pastor's Desk #notesfromthepastorsdesk 📖Psalm 143:5-6 (ESV) 5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands. 6 I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah 📘Pastor's Note: How thirsty are we for God? Do we realize our souls are like drought-stricken lands yearning for life-giving water. That’s how King David longed for his life-giving Deliverer. That’s how his thirst was quenched. He meditated and pondered on all God had done. Do we do the same? Far too often, we attempt to quench our thirst through other means instead of drinking from the eternal spring that truly satisfies our greatest needs. That’s a good prayer, “Lord, teach us to recognize that the only thing that can satisfy the thirst of our souls is You!” 🙏I'm praying for you always. ❤️ Pastor Jamie 📖Read the Chapter: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%20143&version=ESV Click here to learn more about The Grace Place Church  James 1:2-4Notes From the Pastor's Desk #notesfromthepastorsdesk 📖James 1:2-4 (ESV) 2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 📘Pastor's Note: We all encounter various trials/challenges in life. How do we respond to the difficult ones? Do we embrace them and grow, or do we wallow in self-pity? James, the half-brother of Jesus, says count it all joy. How are we to find joy in those difficulties? The answer: knowing the Lord is at work even in the darkest storms, perfecting us in the faith. Trials have a pruning effect. They humble us. They grow our roots stronger. Though we may not initially see it, it makes us healthier, more effective, more useful to the Lord in our walk to glorify Him. Difficulties have a wonderful way of showing us where our dependency lies. Christians turn to and are comforted in their Savior. And as those difficult storms pass, we find ourselves better equipped with a deeper understanding and a relationship with Christ. So, if you're going through a difficult time in your life, know that there is work going on within it. "I am no longer my own, but Yours. Put me to what You will, rank me with whom You will; put me to doing, put me to suffering; let me be employed for You or laid aside for You, exalted for You or brought low for You; let me be full, let me be empty; let me have all things, let me have nothing; I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things to Your pleasure and disposal." John Wesley 🙏I'm praying for you always. ❤️ Pastor Jamie Read the Chapter: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James%201&version=ESV Learn more about us www.mygpchurch.com  |
AuthorPastor Jamie Payton 
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