well that's just not fair

I think we should take a minute and look at all the unfairness in the world. I know with Occupy Wallstreet, the economy, and the media's fixation on it; we hear this term an awful lot. Honestly I get it. It's not fair that people can live on welfare, but I have to work. It's not fair that some people get food stamps, but I buy my groceries. It's not fair that there are people in our country who don't pay the $1,000 or more that most of us pay for child care. Most of all it is not fair that I take a drug test to be employed and pay into a fund that pays for all of this, and yet these people are not drug tested or even always legally here in the US.

On the other hand it is not fair that I make the salary that I make while some big banker, doctor, lawyer, sports star, or politician gets to bring home 2-5x my salary. Its not fair that they live in a big house; even though they paid for that house with their money. It's not fair that they get to have nice things and go on nice vacations that I cannot afford. It really isn't fair that some people have wonderful health benefits while others have none.


I guess I have to agree it's just all so unfair, that I am upset. In fact if I sit and dwell on it I might get even more upset. So who do I complain to? Should I protest in the street? Should I turn to God? Where should you put in your two cents at all this unfairness? Lets stop a minute in our quest for fairness, and ask an important question. Do I really want life to be fair?

If everyone has the same amount of money that means no one can be rich. So what would I work hard for? If everyone has the same everything how would I be different? Sure it would be fair, but would it make me happier? What would this do to the American dream? What does this mean in light of what I believe about God? What does the bible say about fairness?
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Not one person is good enough. In all fairness we fall short, and we deserve nothing. If God were fair he would look at us and say you don't measure up. My standards are high and you my friend fall short. Look at your own life are you good enough for heaven? Have you ever lied, stolen, had angry hate filled thoughts, looked lustfully at a woman. If you have lied you are a liar. If you have stolen you are a thief. Hating someone is as bad as committing murder. John 3:15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. Looking lustfully at a women is as bad as committing adultery. Matthew 5:28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Now that you have examined your heart how do you feel you measure up? Would it be fair to say you don't measure up? Would it be fair to say the standards are set and you can't walk through those gates. Thank God that he sees better than to treat us fairly.
Romans 5: 12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—
Death is what we deserve. Death would be fair. We don't deserve anything eternal. Our works could never be enough.
Romans 5: 15 But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. A pretty powerful gift. Something undeserved, and unfair. Offered freely to all who will accept it. Whether you or I deserve it or not. God gave us life. Not only did he give us life. He gave it through his son. He allowed his son to experience pain and death so you and I might have life.

So I guess in the end life isn't fair and I am so glad it's not. Because if life were fair I wouldn't get the most amazing gift of all. The gift I could never earn. The gift I could never pay for. The gift I would never be worthy of. A gift that will last longer than this short lifetime. I hope the next time you are pondering fairness you will remember to be thankful for unfairness!

Charmaine Not Fair
Why do You love me, why are You here?
You know my intentions, are never sincere
My heart is unfaithful, I'll do it again
But Your words are like fire that burns through my skin, and it's

Not fair
It's not fair
It's so not fair
How You love me
You love me
You so love me
And it don't seem right, that Your love has never been fair

I've covered the Basis, I know who I am
I've chased every treassure still covered in rags
I'm a thief and a liar, my names in the sand
But that doesn't phase You, You pull me back in and it's

Hoopne

Steadfastness, Patience, Endurance, Hoopne


Linclon Brester
Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord

James 1: 1-15 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:Greetings. ² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

Trials are something we all experience. One minute we are going along and things are great, then wham God throws us a trial. The bible says consider your trials pure joy. What does it mean by that? I am supposed to be happy when everything falls apart around me? To understand what that means we need to know something about joy:
Joy is supernatural delight
Joy is found in the person of God
Joy is found in the purposes of God
Joy is found in the people of God...............
Joy is not just happiness, but instead an experience of supernatural delight in the purpose, person, and people of God. If you believe that God has a plan then you can find joy.
^{James 1:2} Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
God leads us into a trial with a purpose. All of God's children are being tested and if you feel that you have never been tested you may need to examine your heart. Everyone experiences times of trials. God shapes us through these trials. God wants to change something in our character through this trial. In these times of trials our greatest problem is our need to control things. Our need to feel that in some way we have a say in what happens to us. If you feel like your life has been a repetition of the same trial over and over again you may be missing something. You may be missing the lesson over and over again. The thing is that in every trial we should approach the situation by asking ourselves some questions:

Examine your heart:
What has happened to me?
Why am I here on this Earth?
How can what's happened to me advance the purpose for why I am still here?
^{James 1:3} because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

You are still here and while you walk on this earth God has a purpose for you to be here. You have to ask yourself why am I here? If you are still breathing, standing, and living God has a purpose for you. In times of trial we also need to ask ourselves some faith questions.

Do I believe God is in control? Imagine driving down a road without holding a steering wheel. Imagine flying a plane with your eyes closed. How helpless would you feel as traffic is coming at you? How helpless would you feel as the winds buffet your craft? This really is how we are in life. Those of us who truly surrender to the will of God find ourselves heading into oncoming traffic and itching to grab the wheel.

This leads us into the next question, do you believe God is good? If God is good you don't need to grab the wheel or tear off your blind fold. Your car will not crash; your plane is not going down. If God is good this trial is for your benefit not to harm you. If God is good he will show you a blessing through what you are experiencing.


Which of course leaves us with a final question: How long are you willing to wait by faith to see his blessing? Do you have faith enough for a week? How about a month? A year? A lifetime? Every trial is a test of our faith. You must ask yourself that question and pray that you have enough faith.

Sadly not everyone has enough faith. In fact many of us react in the same way time and again. The #1 reaction to trials is lashing out. We lash out at those close us, we lash out at God, and sometimes we lash out at anyone who will listen. This lashing out usually leads to the second reaction. We bail out. We give up. We turn to God and look him straight in the eye then grab the wheel. I am giving up, I am getting out, and God I am taking control. I just don't have the faith to wait...................Sound familiar............Sound like something you have felt.......................

When you decide that you are done waiting patiently for God's work to be done in you. The moment you decide you will fix this yourself; is when you get in between the hammer and the work. If you have ever hit your thumb with a hammer you can imagine the pain that follows!!!
^{James 1:4} Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

What do we get if we wait in faith? What will we experience at the end of this trial. The Greek word is Hoopne. It means to remain under. It is translated as steadfastness, patience, and endurance. What we get is simple and powerful we remain under God. We gain faith in his amazing work. We learn as we experience that God is good ALL THE TIME!

Distractions

Nehemiah accomplished something that seemed impossible and he did it in 52 days.
Nehemiah 6:2 that Sanballat and Geshem tsent to me, saying, “Come, let us meet together among the villages in the plain of Ono.” But they thought to do me harm.
Nehemiah did not allow them to distract him. His response:
Nehemiah 6:3 So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?”
Everyone is called to a great work. God is calling you as you sit here reading this. Whether you realize it or not God has a purpose for you and your life. So often we get wrapped up in worrying about that purpose. If you turn to your bible you can find any number of people who were called to do great things, but didn't feel worthy. From Jeremiah to Moses we can see our own doubts. With Jonah we can discover what happens when we run from his call, and with Nehemiah we can see what God can accomplish.

God likes the little guy. God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. The devil on the other hand would like to destroy anything and everything God cares about. The closer you are to God the more the devil would like to see you fail. The closer you get to doing a GREAT WORK the more the devil will try to stop you.


The easiest way for him to stop you is distracting you. Just like Nehemiah was tempted by the distraction of a meeting you will be tempted. Sometimes the distractions are big things, but most often they are little things. A good book, going shopping, a few minutes on facebook, football........ Each person has their own Tailor Made distractions. The things that will tempt you away from what God wants you to be doing. All of these distractions are a waste of time, and any of them might be harmless in moderation. The problem for us is the moderation part. You see the devil doesn't tempt us with moderation he tempts us with something that will fully absorb us. His goal is to pull us completely away from whatever God has planned.

From the outside looking in others can easily see our distractions as they eat up our time. The distractions that consume our lives. However, on the inside we are so distracted that we miss it all. Some of us go through life so distracted that when the end comes we haven't even started the work yet. You may be one of those people. The bible says your work, God's Work, is more important than all the distractions on this earth. To a starving orphan in a third world country spending 5 minutes drinking a cup of coffee that costs the same amount as a week's worth of food is frivolous. To the person who is working every minute of the day to finish the construction of a shelter before the storm sitting in front of a television watching football is frivolous.

It may be time to search our own lives and purge the distractions..................That book you are reading while good might just be a waste of time.................That game you are watching..............That hobby..........The game of golf..........

You must, You must think I'm strong
To give me what I'm going through
Well, forgive me, forgive me if I'm wrong
But this looks like more than I can do on my own

I know I'm not strong enough to be
Everything that I'm supposed to be
I give up, I'm not strong enough

Hands of mercy, won't You cover me?
Lord, right now I'm asking You to be
Strong enough, strong enough
For the both of us, yeah

Well maybe, maybe that's the point
To reach the point of giving up
'Cause when I'm finally, finally at rock bottom
Well, that's when I start looking up and reaching out

I know I'm not strong enough to be
Everything that I'm supposed to be
I give up, I'm not strong enough

Hands of mercy, won't You cover me?
Lord, right now I'm asking You to be
Strong enough, strong enough

'Cause I'm broken, down to nothing
But I'm still holding on to the one thing
You are God and You are strong
When I am weak

I can do all things
Through Christ who gives me strength
I don't have to be strong enough
Strong enough

I can do all things
Through Christ who gives me strength
And I don't have to be strong enough
Strong enough, oh, yeah

I know I'm not strong enough to be
Everything that I'm supposed to be
I give up, I'm not strong enough

Hands of mercy, won't You cover me?
Lord, right now I'm asking You to be
Strong enough, strong enough
Strong enough