"God is Working in Our Lives!"

"The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way."
- Psalm 37:23

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28

"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."
- Philippians 1:6

As we journey down the road of life, it has many twists and turns in it and also some mountaintop and valley experiences. In the midst of all this we MUST see God's hand working throughout our lives.

Can we mess up God's plan for our lives? Sort of yes, and sort of no. We will do things that are NOT God's will, like sin, disobedience (which is sin), etc., and they will get us off of God's track for our lives. But the moment we repent and seek Him, He works us back into His plan and will for our lives.

You may think - no, you don't understand, I messed up too bad for God to use me. No, that is not so!!! I have wrestled with that myself, but we need to remember that God is BIGGER than our mess-ups. And guess what? God KNEW you were going to mess up even BEFORE you messed up. He also KNEW when you would repent and had ALREADY laid out the path BEFORE HAND to get you back on track with His will for you - WOW!!!

Not only does God move in straightening out our mess-ups, but He also is moving in our everyday life as we walk with Him. Over the years, I have had what I'll call "divine appointments", which simply means being at the right place at the right time because of following the LORD. There are many times we don't even have a clue that God is directing our steps (we think we are), but then you look back and say ONLY GOD could have made that "divine appointment".

One example of this is in founding BibleFood Devotional a couple years ago (actually three years ago January 2001). I followed the LORD'S leading in starting BibleFood Devotional. At the time it didn't seem like a big deal, just an act of obedience.

Out of that act of obedience, I have had the following happen:

1. I have grown through reaching out to others.

2. A great prayer ministry has been birthed out of BibleFood, called "God's Prayer Warriors", headed by Kitty (Kitty12937@aol.com), which works in conjunction with BibleFood, but is also run independent of BibleFood.

3. I have made some real friends.

4. I have made ministerial friends.

5. Out of BibleFood Devotional was started another online ministry in January of 2000 called "The Encourager", an E-mail newsletter for ministers.

6. I met my wife. She was a member of BibleFood and had moved to the area where I lived (though we didn't know each other yet). She e-mailed me one day that she was looking for a church in the area. I recommended that she visit where I was attending. We became offline friends and in time, fell in love (no cyber dating for us). Let me state here that we were not looking to date each other. That happened in time. God's time! And what a blessing He gave me in Joyce (my wife).

There are other areas where God has done amazing things in my life and others just because of obeying Him in this ONE area. The last thing (number 7) I would like to share on relating to BibleFood touches my heart deeply as it is so GOD! This will take a few lines to explain but I think it will be worth your reading.

Back in the spring I was planning to register www.biblefood.com as it was available and would be so much easier for you all to remember and/or find. Finally, later that spring when I was ready to register it, I found that it had been taken just a couple weeks before.

I was upset about losing the name and checked to see who took it. I decided to e-mail the person who registered it. I explained to this person how I had been wanting it for a long time. We ended up becoming friends (real close friends). The website name became a non-issue, but our friendship became our main concern. We have corresponded a lot by e-mail.

This fall, my wife and I met Bob and his wife Mary while on our vacation. We spent the day with them and felt like we had known each other for years.

I decided, with my busy schedule and the many changes in my life time-wise, that it was time to ask Pastor Bob Jones to use his God-given gift in the Greek to bless the readers of BibleFood Devotional. So he has agreed to write one to two writings a month for us. Although we are separate ministries, we will also we working together for the purpose of blessing the Body of Christ.

Also, I did register BibleFood as www.biblefood.org (ORG)
and Pastor Bob Jones is still www.biblefood.com (COM).
So isn't that AWESOME!!! :)

In closing, I want to say that I write this during one of those times in my own life when LIFE seems trial-filled and there is a lot of valley time. But I know God is still God, He is still in control!!! So whether things are looking bright or dark, remember God is ultimately in CONTROL!!! Let God be God and allow Him to move in your life!

Your prayers are ALWAYS welcome and appreciated.

In His Service,
Jim (BibleFood@aol.com)