Fixate PHX

JAMES 5:7-203 OUTCOMES OF ROOTED RHYTHMS THAT COME FROM JAMES FINAL VERSES1- There is an increased measure of compassion, mercy, and blessing for the unwavering and patient person. The most common test we see over and over in scripture is that of patience; God’s timing vs ours. God's heart of blessing in the Bible is more often than not shown to those who have weathered the tests, stayed faithful, and remained planted in him in all seasons. Lordship comes down to control, and the sooner we can release it, and trust it, the sooner the roots found in a life of righteousness will get to work producing a life that knows and walks in the mercy, compassion, and blessing of God.2- The prayer of a truly righteous person should accomplish much. Your prayers should put you out on the ledge of life, trusting that it is he who keeps you above the waves. Accomplishing much in prayer is when you are standing for neighbors, standing in love, standing for justice... and producing HEALING in this world. Prayer is the canvas that God paints his will and personhood upon, so if you're not praying… he's not painting. In time what we most discover about prayer is it is not what they accomplish externally, as much as what they accomplish internally, that starts to knit in the calling he has for our lives. Your prayers have healing and revelation to accomplish... Do you believe that?3- When we accept Jesus into our heart, our lives start bending toward finding the lost, and telling them they can be found. Our kingdom-character is bankrupt if we cannot remember the last time we tried to bring our light into someone's darkness through being a healing presence, and revelation of God’s love. We are the mission of God on this earth outside of these doors, that says we don’t have to accept a life of death, and that sin does not have the final say. The enemy wants you to stop trying, so you can start spiritually dying. You're a messenger as long as you have breath inside you. How are you with strays?

James 3:16-4:103 ways to know if our pursuit of pleasure is costing us our peace1- The opposite of jealousy and selfish ambition is peacefulness. You can assess your own selfishness/jealousy and that of those around you by the peace they carry and bring to the environments they enter. Peace is a product of dependance on the prince of peace, rhythmically and in discipline communing with him. Time with the prince of peace in his word and spirit helps us sow peace, then reap peace, and become.. peaceful. 2- We must assess the motives within asking for pleasures.. Many times we are asking for something to complete us that was only intended to complement us. If your search for completion is by what was only intended to complement, don't be upset when God tests the heart and motive, through trials and timing. A peace in him will multiply the pleasure you experience if you can learn and lean into him deeper… and you might find the pleasure you seek might actually be replaced by the peace he brings.3- Beware the attack of duplicity and double mindedness. God will allow you to go through tests in order to purify the heart's motives. Don’t run from them. The test of duplicity is to think that you are allowed a heavenly mind and way of being, and also a dark side that no one knows about, stemming from an unrenewed mind. If you choose the work of renovation, you will know personally the power you carry to restore, and in restoring your own world, you might find he uses you to restore this world.

James 3:1-123 tips on cleaning corrosion and resetting the breakers on how you speak A TONGUE THAT LACKS CONTROL IS A LIFE THAT LACKS CONTROL. The words we speak are not a product of spiritual maturity as much as it is the evidence that you are spiritually mature. Winning the battle of the words you speak directly influences all the battles you are fighting and will fight. Don’t be mad there isn't any power present in your life if you have allowed the main avenue of power transfer to be corroded. A life in the light or in the darkness just comes down to how often you speak light and how often you speak darkness. IT WILL ALWAYS BE YOUR CHOICE WHAT FIRE COMES FORTH FROM YOUR WORDS. THE FIRES OF HEAVEN OR THE FIRES OF HELL. IF YOUR WORDS ARE ONLY CRITICAL, DESTRUCTIVE, FULL OF GOSSIP, SLANDER, COMPLAINTS, WORRY, OR DIVISIVE IT IS YOUR JOB TO TAME THE TONGUE BEFORE THE FIRE DESTROYS THE GOOD WORK PLACED INSIDE OF YOU AND THE GOOD NEWS YOU ARE MADE TO LIVE IN. SOME OF US WANT ‘MORE FIRE’ FROM GOD BUT OUR MOUTH DESTROYS ANYTHING GOOD HE EVER TRIES TO GIVE US.What is said about you, is usually what people have heard said through you. I challenge you right now to take inventory of how often your words are blessing and how often your words are cursing. Speaking the truth doesn’t give you a free pass on transmitting words of death. Corrosion slowly takes the power away, until one day you have none. There is no coincidence to man’s need for fresh water for survival; both physically and spiritually. Don’t let your spring become so polluted that no one values what you say anymore.

James 2:14-263 thoughts on understanding the relationship between faith and works The mission field is your business field. Your daily Work, works, and witness say more about who you serve than your christian activities involvement. Faith and Works is about the lifestyle you live and the lives it touches of those around you. Faith and Works feel dead and dormant when they have not woven a level of calling into your career. Inviting God into your daily work, may do more for your “works” then you ever imagined. YOUR “DOING” CAN BE THE GREAT ERASER, EQUALIZER, AND ENERGIZER OF FULFILLMENT IN CHRIST. Your faith gets you access to God, your works develop the proximity to God. Faith becomes perfected when works become regularly enacted. Some of us all our questions, concerns, fears, and paralysis would dissipate if we just thought less, and did a little more. Paralysis is frozen inactivity. If you're active, you never feel frozen. F YOU WANT WORK THAT HAS WORTH, IT USUALLY INVOLVES A COST THAT WILL SEEM EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO PAY. WHEN WE WILL NOT PAY THE COST OF CONSISTENT AND COSTLY “DOING” OUR SPIRITS WITHER BECAUSE OUR WORKS BECOME DORMANT AND THEN DEAD. THE CROWN HAS A COST REQUIRED TO WEAR IT. Rhythmically dying to self through our doing is way easier than never doing anything in faith and then God taking you through an unforseen test to see if our heart and motives are pure. Paying tolls of doing help us pass the tests within our being.

James 2:1-133 important lessons that we can only learn from what we have labeled as less than. THE EXTENT OF YOUR LOVE TO THE LEAST, SHOWS THE DEPTHS OF WHO YOU FOLLOW THE MOST. The test of who you are when no one is looking usually comes down to your love for those who can give nothing in return. The god we serve usually uses the ones we don’t think we can learn from, to teach us most. A saint with dirty hands, is one whose heart is full. There is no such thing as a personal relationship with Christ that does not require personal care for our neighbors. The poor have just as much a right to the riches of faith as us. Partiality on appearance and superiority must be repented of. If you make your decisions of those who are allowed access to your time and resource by the outward appearance, you will atrophy the spiritual muscles needed for the marathon of following jesus. The neighbor you're called to love is the people God places in your direct path, everyday.I'm convinced that the level of judgment we feel today as followers of Christ comes from a mercy dispensing deficiency in our personal walk. If mercy triumphs over judgment then the invitation is whenever we feel the judgment of man, or even the judgment and blame we cast upon ourselves, we look for ways to apply mercy to our fellow man, preferably the downcast and downtrodden. You might be surprised when you give mercy and grace to someone less fortunate, what it does for your fortunes and your future. Mercy triumphs over judgment, if you practice it, you may find out first hand.

James 1:21-27

James 1:13-203 TUNEUPS TO OUR FAITHS FOUNDATION AND LONGEVITY1- YOU MUST LEARN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TESTS OF GOD AND THE TEMPTATIONS WITHIN MAN'S NATURE. God’s test typically reveals, reorients, and re-routes us onto the path he has for us. Temptation of man centers on unholy/unhealthy desire, and if we will give into these desires, how many times we give in until it becomes normalized, and then the fruit of destruction from that normalization and God trying to restore what was sinful to being viewed as sin once again. Temptations and tests feel the same, but are very different. 2- WHAT YOU PASSIONATELY DESIRE MUST BE PASSIONATELY DESIGNED WITHIN HIM.. Desire produced apart from him produces a slow death, carried away and enticed by the illusion of something good, rather than your father who wants to give you both GOOD AND PERFECT things from above. Your secret desires are what God sees, the question is are you aware of them and the influence they have on everything you do.. 3- THE ANGER YOU ALLOW IN YOUR HEART WILL TAKE UP THE SPACE CREATED FOR LOVE AND RIGHTEOUSNESS IF YOU LET IT. Anger is not just an impulsive outburst; it is bitterness, rage, unforgiveness, resentment, cynicism, vengeance, and the wanting to get even. If you can't be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, there may be something under the hood that needs to be taken care of… before it wrecks the worth of the entire work of righteousness you were intended to be.

James 1:2-12HOW WE TRAIN TO LAST The goal of maturity is to become perfect and complete, lacking nothing. The pathway to maturity comes through testing that produces endurance, then allowing this endurance to have a full effect. The terrain in which maturity is built through is facing trials and figuring out how to maintain and count it all joy. Maturity is embracing this cycle for its beauty and not its cost. We must embrace God’s tests as much as God’s gifts, and personal doubts as well as our personal beliefs in order to fully understand the person we have been created to become. Your walk with Jesus will directly address the whole of you as a person, and will be longer than you think, and cost more than you believe you can pay. When we seek first the kingdom and righteousness it’s not just that ‘all things’ are added, rather we find out that the ‘all things’ we sought at the start don’t even come close to knowing him. God’s homework is heart work. We endure from love, for love and by love. The crown of life is not just for someone who endures, rather it comes from the love we have for the one we endured for. We don't endure for blessings, we endure to get closer to the blesser, and trust that he handles when, where, and how to give us the crown. Perseverance without HIS approval is completely pointless.

This week we begin our study through the book of James.James 1:1Reminder of the Bond Servant:THERE IS A DIFFERENCE IN WILLINGLY PAYING THE COST OF BEING A SERVANT OF GOD; AND GOING THROUGH UNFORESEEN DIFFICULTIES. IF LIFE IS DIFFICULT IT DOESN'T MEAN WE FORGET AND THEN WALK AWAY FROM THE COMMITMENT WE MADE, RATHER WE MUST ALWAYS REMEMBER THE COMMITMENT HE MADE TO US. WE PIN OUR EARS TO THE DOOR, HE PINNED HIS LIFE TO THE CROSS.IS BEING A SLAVE OF GOD MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE FREEDOM OF MAN? You cannot be both the owner and the bond servant. Don’t get mad at God if he tries to remind you through difficult circumstances who is the master and who is the servant. In your pursuit of freedom from all constraints don’t be surprised at some point if you're eating an apple that has larger consequences than you ever imagined. COMMITTED SERVICE IS GREATER THAN INDIVIDUAL FREEDOMS.THERE IS POWER IN THE PICTURE. OUTSIDE OF THE MASTER WE HAVE NOTHING TO LIVE FOR, OUTSIDE OF THE WORK OF THE KINGDOM WE HAVE NO OTHER EXISTENCE, OUTSIDE OF THE WORK OF GOD WE HAVE NO OTHER REASON OF BEING, AND THAT FROM THIS PLACE WE LIVE. A PINNED EAR IS A PRUNED HEART. WE ARE CALLED TO A LIFE OF A SERVANT, ON BEHALF OF OUR MESSIAH, JESUS. YOUR SERVICE SHOULD HAVE SOME SCARS, HIS DID.

2 Kings 6:8-23HOW TO TRAIN YOUR EYES TO SEE ABOVE IT ALL1- YOUR VISION TEST COMES DOWN TO ONE QUESTION; DO YOU SEE GOD AS THE SOLE SOURCE OF YOUR SALVATION? IF NOT HE WILL ALLOW YOU TO CONTINUE TO USE YOUR STRENGTH IN WAYS THAT FAIL.. IN HOPES YOU COME TO THE REALIZATION YOU MUST RUN TOWARDS THE ONE WHO WILL NEVER FAIL YOU..2- PEOPLE CAN GET YOU CLOSE; BUT YOUR HABITS GET YOUR CLOSEST. YOUR ABILITY TO HEAR WILL DIRECTLY INFLUENCE YOUR ABILITY TO SEE. SO TAKE OWNERSHIP OF HABITS OF HEARING, SO YOU WILL BE ABLE TO WALK INTO SEASONS OF SEEING. 3- IF YOU’RE MORE AWARE OF WHAT'S AROUND THAN WHAT'S ABOVE I CHALLENGE YOU TO PLACE YOURSELF IN ENVIRONMENTS THAT FORCE YOUR EYES UPWARD, GET AROUND PEOPLE WHO FORCE YOUR EYES UPWARD, READ THE BIBLE AND BOOKS THAT FORCE YOUR EYES UPWARD, SING SONGS THAT FORCE YOUR EYES UPWARD, AND DO NOT BELIEVE THE LIE THAT YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO SEE ABOVE IT ALL… TO LIVE ABOVE IT ALL, IS WHERE WE ALL WERE CREATED TO BELONG.

Hebrews 12:7-15How we live on the collective mission DEPTH IS DAILY. IT IS TRAINING TO SENSE THE SPIRIT, AND BE ROOTED IN THE SCRIPTURES. THIS IS A DAY TO DAY CHOICE WE MUST MAKE; TIME IN THE WORD OF GOD, TIME IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD. DISCIPLINES PRIORITIZE THE RHYTHMIC PRACTICE OF BEING PRESENT IN THE SANCTUARY; AND A LIFE OF COMMUNITY WHICH ENGAGES AND INVITES OTHER BELIEVERS IN FOR THE JOURNEY WE ARE ALL ON. WE MUST MAKE DIRECT CHOICES TO CONFRONT OUR LIFE AND CHANGE IT IF A LACK OF DISCIPLINE AND COMMITMENT ARE LABELS WE HAVE ATTACHED TO OUR WALK WITH GOD. SACRIFICE IS HOW YOU SERVE OTHERS AND PRACTICE GENEROSITY. THESE ARE BOTH IN THE CHURCH CONSTRUCT BUT ALSO IN YOUR DAY TO DAY WORLD AND LIFE. THESE COST THE MOST TO OUR COMFORT, SO THEREFORE THEY ARE EMBRACED THE LEAST IN OUR CULTURE. SUSTAINABILITY IS WHEN YOU HAVE BEEN PROVED FAITHFUL IN THE LITTLE, AND START TO EXPERIENCE THE MUCH OF GOD. THE “MUCH” TO ME ARE THE SACRED PRACTICES WE DO NOT TALK ENOUGH ABOUT BUT ARE DIRECTLY TIED TO HOW SUSTAINABLE OUR WALK WITH CHRIST BECOMES. THE BIG THREE SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES FOR ME ARE SABBATH, SOLITUDE, AND FASTING PRAYER.

Acts 7:54-60Acts 8:1-3Acts 11:19-26HOW TO GET GOING WHEN ITS THE LAST THING YOU WANT TO DOTHE MOST INOPPORTUNE TIMES, PLACES, AND SEASONS IS WHEN GOD TYPICALLY TESTS LORDSHIP. GOD USES INTERRUPTIONS AND REROUTING AS A TOOL OF REFOCUS. YOU’RE CALLED TO “GO” AND THAT “GO” TYPICALLY IS GOING TO LOOK RADICALLY DIFFERENT THAN YOU THINK IT DOES. BE OPEN MINDED. THE MAIN CAUSE OF BOREDOM IN FAITH IS INACTIVITY, AND THE MAIN INGREDIENT TO INACTIVITY IS INDIFFERENCE. IF YOU WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IT IS YOU WHO MUST DECIDE IF YOU WILL ACTUALLY BECOME AND PRIORITIZE BEING ACTIVE IN YOUR FAITH OR NOT. IT IS THAT SIMPLE. There will always be someone who does it better than you or is more talented. I truly believe in this day and age we need less qualified and less polished people who admit they don’t have the answers, and people who embrace the gift of unconditional love and relational commitment. People cannot embrace faith as real, unless the person speaking about it is. Your present and real self is enough to make a difference.

Matthew 28:16-20NEW INSTRUCTIONS. NEW DIRECTIONS. AND THE NEW PERSON YOU MUST BECOME ALONG THE WAY. MAKING DISCIPLES IS THE START, BUT WE MUST BE A DISCIPLE TO MAKE DISCIPLES. The pursuit of making disciples should be pushing your boundaries, comfort zone, ability to sacrifice, and self discipline. You cannot help make someone something you are not. Being a true disciple will not allow you to live a lifestyle in which you don’t attract and disciple others. As you gain and grow, you MUST give and pour out. The presence and nearness of the Holy Spirit is thee secret ingredient of the mystery, power, and joy of life in christ. We cannot preach the gospel without prioritizing the presence. Christianity is not self-help; it is the metamorphosis of scripture, Spirit, and sanctification. I’d rather live by the Spirit and be weird for it, than die in a lifeless religion that never knew a fully surrendered reality of faith. DON’T GET SO BUSYING DOING, YOU FORGET ABOUT YOUR BEING. “Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” is your painkiller when it feels like we have been fractured by failure, hopelessness, and the futility of trying to be light in the darkness. He died to destroy the lie that the enemy tells you that you're alone, and no one sees you or loves you. He truly is with you always.

Matthew 26:36-46How your prayer life lives on mission today Being present in someone's need, pain, story, struggle, or trauma as someone who “keeps watch” through prayer is love on display. The playbook of missional prayer for others is just sitting, being awake and aware of the needs they have, and giving them to God repeatedly and rigidly for as long as they need us to. Your presentness is your gift. SOMETIMES PRAYER IS ALL WE CAN DO, SHOULD DO, ARE ABLE TO DO, BARELY WANT TO DO, AND FEEL WE ARE EVEN KINDA QUALIFIED TO DO. STILL MAKE IT A HABIT TO DO IT. Bearing one another's burdens sounds like a lot, until you're the one who needs to be carried. Practice carrying. For one day we will all need to be carried. ‘Can I pray for you’ is not a one time commitment. It's a spiritual investment into someone until the need is met or the answer is made. People with little faith learn a lot from people with a lot of faith who choose to not back down from darkness, fear and doubt. To pray without ceasing is just a saint who won’t stop believing that they will see the goodness of God, in the land of the living.

Matthew 9:9-13How to have Compassion on the Entirety of the MissionCOMPASSION IS ABOUT CONNECTION, IF YOU WANT TO CARE YOU MUST DEEPLY FORM RELATIONSHIPS THAT DON’T FIT INTO TIME LIMITS OR SOCIAL NORMS. WE NEED TO WALK ALONGSIDE PEOPLE, NOT BE TOO BUSY OR HEADY FOR THEM TO GET CLOSE.THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS AND HAVING THE RIGHT MOTIVE. YOUR MOTIVES DETERMINE YOUR LIFE'S MOTION. WE CANNOT BE SO FOCUSED ON THE “SACRIFICE” AND “RIGHTEOUSNESS” THAT WE FORGET TO SHOW MERCY TO THE SINNERS.OUR COMPASSIONS MISSION IS TO RECLAIM AND RENAME. WE DON'T SEE SOMEONE AS FALLEN WE SEE THEM AS NOT RESURRECTED YET. WE DON'T SEE SINNERS WE SEE PEOPLE WHO HAVEN'T MET JESUS YET. OUR MISSION ON EARTH IS TO RECLAIM WHAT HAS BEEN LOST, AND RENAME IT ONCE FOUND.

Matthew 15:21-28HOW TO SEE THOSE IN FRONT OF YOU, IN ORDER TO LOVE HOW GOD INTENDED YOU TOWhatever you have labeled you hate is what God will challenge you to love. If your love has limits so too will your depth of knowing Jesus. He loves “them” just as much as He loves you. You might be surprised the response you get from “crumbs” moments when you see people rightly. The people who are too far gone in your mind might be the ones who respond to faith the fastest if you give them a chance. “Risks” that pay off equal faith that blows up. If your seeing is believing then your doing must be activated. So many profess to wanting to see God do things yet want to do nothing. Your enjoyment of a seat at the table is multiplied when you start making room for more seats. It’s not about your place, but rather the places you make for the “dogs” of this world.

Mark 3:16

1 John 5:13-21What we should know but maybe need reminded.If we are born of God then we should not be actively, deliberately sinning, as we live under his rule and reign. Idolatry in this form is knowing what God had said but choosing to worship a false god by practicing an action that is disobedient to the life that’s been purchased for you. Idols are not just carved images, they are conflicted hearts, torn between two realities. Lordship is shown not by what you know, but rather what you won’t allow yourself to do anymore after you have encountered Christ’s love.The enemy wants to get you so mad at the world that you forget you’re called to change it. Being mad at a fallen world for being fallen is just us becoming more aware that we Christian’s haven’t taken the great commission serious enough. I challenge you today to not get mad at a fallen world, but to be challenged to be the light in the darkness that we have been too busy being opposed to, rather than fighting for.Idolatry all comes down to truth. Do you believe biblical truth, the truth of the gospel, the truth and the conviction of the spirits leading in your heart, the truth you’re a child of God…the list is endless. Or have we believed half truths….that influences the full truth of the gospel…and has stripped a submitted life in Christ of its power and instead started a new battle ground of logic and reason, you must know God’s truth as your truth, so your truth doesn’t rewrite Gods truth.

1 John 5:1-12 Proof proves a viewpoint. Do we have proof of a life that is overcome? Do we have proof of a life that has been changed? It is easy to profess faith but not produce anything that proves faith.There is absolutely no way around it. A life in Jesus must have an encounter rooted in revelation of the blood that was shed, water baptism of repentance, and a life led of the Holy Spirit and growing in your consciousness of its leading. We can only claim ignorance of these matters so long before it slips into rebellion that leads to lifeless religiosity.Love and obedience go together they do not fight against each other. The creators instructions on living are perfectly and divinely designed to meet his creations needs. What you love you obey, follow and protect. If you love, and yet do not know the ways of obedience to that love you must immerse yourself in a lifestyle of abiding in his word and his spirit to learn how love is lived.The things that no one knows are the places His overcoming power wants to touch first. How you grow in faith is when it transforms what was once pain, into a platform for His glory to be shown. If you want to be the proof to the world and to yourself…you must allow the darkest secrets and doubts, and the hidden places of your life to be exposed to the blood, the water and the Spirit…and not carry the burden anymore.

1 John 4:11-21Love for others + the practice of abiding in God - fear = a weirdly perfected faith (love perfected in us)How do we get this equation inside of us for others to see it outside of us THE PRACTICE OF ABIDING IN GOD IS JUST LIKE THE PRACTICE OF ANY OTHER THING THAT REQUIRES PRACTICE TO DEVELOP. USUALLY IT IS AWKWARD AND UNCOMFORTABLE AT FIRST, THAT OVER TIME PRODUCES A CONFIDENCE, PEACE, AND SENSE OF PRIDE AND APPRECIATION FOR WHERE YOU STARTED AND HOW FAR YOU HAVE COME. DON'T BE SO AFRAID OF THE STARTING LINE THAT YOU FORGET YOU WERE BORN TO RUN THIS RACE WITH JESUS. THE COMPOUND INTEREST OF ABIDING IS A DEPTH OF KNOWLEDGE AND AWARENESS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN YOUR PERSONAL LIFE.. IF YOU ABIDE BUT DO NOT HAVE THE EVIDENCE OF FRUITS OF SPIRIT OR GREATER AWARENESS OF THE SPIRITS LEADING , YOUR ABIDING MUST COURSE CORRECT BEFORE IT TURNS TO CYNISM, CRITICALNESS, AND A SPIRITUAL SUPERIOR SPIRIT. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE COLOR ADDED IN A BLACK AND WHITE WORLD.IF THE DEVIL CAN’T GET YOU TO SIN HE WILL GET YOU TO LIVE IN FEAR… FEAR CAN TAKE CONTROL AWAY FROM GOD JUST AS MUCH AND AS FAST AS ANY SIN CAN. FEAR TAKES YOUR EYES AWAY FROM THE FATHER AND PLACES THEM ON THE FALLEN. EYES STAY UP SO LIFE STAYS UP.

The infinitely repeated test of loving others1 JOHN 3:13-24 How we can make the test easier and not harderYOU EXPERIENCING HATE, BITTERNESS, JUDGMENT, OR UNFORGIVENESS DOES NOT GIVE YOU PERMISSION TO RE-TRANSMIT IT TO OTHERS. YOUR RESURRECTION LIFE IS TIED TO YOUR REPRESENTATION OF CHRIST LOVE IN THE WORLD YOU LIVE IN EVERYDAY. IF YOU WANT LIFE YOU MUST LET GO OF DEATH.THE DEED AND THE TRUTH IS WHAT SHOWS THE PROOF. YOUR ACTIONS CARRY MUCH MORE WEIGHT THAN YOUR WORDS. TIME WILL SIFT THE WORDS YOU SPEAK TO ENSURE THAT YOUR ACTIONS BACK THEM UP. LOVE IS MUCH MORE THAN LIP SERVICE; THERE IS A PRACTICAL SERVICE REQUIRED.LOVE IS A CONTINUOUS PRESENT TENSE REALITY TO A FOLLOWER OF JESUS; IT IS THEE EXPRESSED EVIDENCE OF A COMMITMENT OF FAITH. IF YOU WANT TO TRACK YOUR GROWTH AND MATURITY, FOCUS ON YOUR ABILITY TO FORGIVE, SACRIFICE, RELEASE PEOPLE, NOT BE DIVISIVE, LOVE THE BRETHREN, RELATE WITH THOSE YOU HAVE NOTHING IN COMMON WITH, AND ON AND ON IT GOES.. THE CHALLENGE OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE..

How to recognize what is wrong to start walking rightly based off of 1 John 2:15-17; 25-29lust of the flesh is anything natural that you prioritize, give power to, or pervert above the righteousness of God and His Spirit. The parts that you trust least typically are the ones he wants to prove himself to you most, if you’re open. I’d your feelings dictate your faith, more than your faith dictates your feelings, this one’s for you. Lust of the eyes is the root of “eye-dolatry”. Awareness of the darkness is the first step in seeing the light. Comparison and coveting are quiet killers are the quiet killers of the Christian faith today. I’d you don’t own your eyes, He can’t own your heart. The boastful pride of life is the opposite of the bride of Christ. If we are drinking cultures kool aid we can’t be mad when we don’t experience contentment. Status in the kingdom is suffering well, long obedience in the same direction, resilient discipleship, and being aware of sand castles and what actually matters. There are no comfortable crosses. Your practices of abiding determine the depths of which you will know God. Your habits with will make you holy if you allow your humility to admit where you’re weak and from that place where to start. If we aim for nothing we will be sure to hit it.

Guest Preacher: Sammy Rodriguez

1 John 3 how to get rid of habitual sin (unchanged sin patterns) and stay enrolled in narrow gate accessA child of God is not one who possesses physical looks and legal guardianship...it's one who has the likeness and character that proves who their Father is. We prove our likeness by our Godliness. Purification is the process of becoming like; if you don't want to live pure you will not become like. You may keep your seat at the table, but you won't be allowed to taste what He has prepared for you. Filled up on the wrong things, craving the right ones. Stop using poison to water seeds. The seed grows in an environment cultivated for growth, habitual sin hijacks an environment of growth and kills any life in Christ that is trying to take root in you. If you're poisoning the roots with sinful behavior don't be mad when you never eat of the fullness of a surrendered life in Christ.

Exploring 1 John 2How to do what we know, so we can grow in what we don’t:If your beliefs aren’t changing your behavior; your behavior will rewrite your beliefs. Knowing the commands and doing the commands is what we’re commanded. There should be some rigid routine inside of your relationship with God and scripture. Don’t be mad you’re not full if you’re not eating. If the law and blessing is love; the breaking of the law and curse of doing so is rooted in hate, offense, and bitterness. If you cannot forgive the lights will be getting shut off.

He must be your light rhythmically, before you will ever be His light publicly.The World is looking for light more than it’s looking for signs.The more intense the light the more noticeable the blemishes; don’t ask for more if you’re not wanting to deal with what might be revealed.Confession and self awareness have been the accelerators of taking sinner to Saint since the beginning. If you don’t repent; and you aren’t aware of the sin in your life you struggle with and are actively trying to change it; don’t get mad when life feels like fumbling in darkness.

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.”3 Thoughts that determine if the paths are straight (and smooth-ish)1- IF YOUR TRUST IS NOT LEADING YOU TO GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF GOD'S WORD and WILL FOR YOUR LIFE AND NEIGHBOR; IT'S FALSE HOPE.2- A MADE UP MIND CANNOT BE A MADE NEW PERSON, YOU NEED NEW UNDERSTANDING IN ORDER TO SEE AND ACKNOWLEDGE HIM IN NEW WAYS.3- STRAIGHT AND SMOOTH PATHS ARE DEVELOPED BY GOING THROUGH SEASONS OF HAVING TRUST WHEN YOU DON'T WANT TO TRUST; UNDERSTANDING WHEN YOU HAVE EVERY REASON TO HOLD YOUR OWN VIEW; AND TRAINING YOURSELF TO SEE AND ACKNOWLEDGE HIM IN A WORLD THAT IS TRYING TO CONVINCE YOU HE IS HIDDEN.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua‬ ‭1‬:‭9‬ ‭4 ways to assess your levels of fear and courageFear is a connection issue. Tighten up your habits and watch your life transmit holiness.Practicing courage are the weights of development you must lift for your spiritual health over the long haul.Fear speaks from personal insufficiency, courage speaks of Christ's sufficiency. You must have a revelation Jesus is sufficient or you will always feel insufficient. Fear is not handled timidly, you must be on the counter-attack of what wants to destroy you.

7 Areas of Perspective from Psalm 23If the Lord is your Shepherd get ready for your wants to be redefinedDon't pray for green pastures and be mad when He makes you lay down in them.Your soul restored comes from drinking deeply in the quiet waters of a relationship as a son/daughter.Before you're trusted to blaze a trail, you better be faithful following the well worn paths of righteousness.Everyone will walk through the valley of the shadow of death, it's your choice if you sit and stay longer than God's intended purpose. The rod of correction comes before the staff of comfort, trust the process.How you dwell determines where you sit, what cup you drink from and if goodness and loving kindness will follow you.

We're back again with another well know and frequently used bible verse (Philippians 4:13) and it's intended context. Certainties and perfect circumstances do not dictate contentment; you must learn it to live it. We want the ability to do all things...but have we shown God we can be generous in all things?Rhythms of grateful reflection and response will diffuse a heart of regret and bitterness if you allow it, invite it, and discipline yourself to do it.Gratitude, generosity and contentment show spiritual maturity more than gifting ever could. Choose character development over gifting development. From this place, you can do all things.

John 3:16 the infamous verse of christianity. We agree, it's beautiful and great but most christians walk around with a surface level view of it, it's time to back up and start to understand the whole of perspective regarding it. You can check the boxes of christianity but if you haven't trained your mind and Spirit to see Him in everything you're missing the fullness of Heaven on earth. It's not about KNOWING about Him but SEEING Him.

Bringing context to some of the most popular bible verses that people get tatted, not intended to shake your theology but to help reshape it. This week we dissect Jeremiah 29:11, bringing clarity to the fullness of it's context and what it actually means for our lives. We learn how to make sure our detours in life don't turn from despair into desperation.

We are called to be salt of the earth, but what does that actually mean? How do you know if you have lost your saltiness or if you even had it to begin with!? If your salt isn't providing healing, it's not the right seasoning. Our salt should be thawing icy ground.Salt that has lost it's flavor is just a disciple who has lost their discipline..or never had it. The salt of the Spirit should flavor your life and others should be able to tase it through conversations and personhood.You will be salted with fire, lean in. The results are that or purity and preservation for your walk with God.

to those who have carried the weight of being a disciple, questioning if it is worth it, there is a peace within the puzzle and life of Jesus for you, keep pressing in. to those who are carrying a heavy weight from the world and situation, the Lord may be asking you to ditch it completely, yet there is still a peace within the puzzle and life of Jesus for you. He has a capacity to lift more than we ever could. Here's a truth for you: you can be found within the crucifixion and resurrection story. We acknowledge that women, those who made mistakes, those who experienced unexplainable pain, religious skeptics, those questioning and wrestling with God are all found within this story. There is a place for you. There is a peace for you. Through the sacrifice of Jesus, God invites the WHOLE OF HUMANITY IN and says "YOU now have a place in me."

The Jews expected Jesus to come riding in on a warhorse as a liberator from Roman oppression, yet He came lowly, gently, and humbly. One week the Jews welcomed Him with praise, and the next week they were crucifying Him. It came from a place of Jesus doing differently than what they expected Him to do and be. Let us learn from them as we renew our minds and recenter them to make sure the right thing isn't the wrong thing on this Holy Week.

We wrap up our "intention of creation" series by equipping ourselves to make sure our "weighting" seasons are fruitful. Patience (meaning standing under a heavy load unwavering) is about building strength, not wasting time. Both the first historically written books of the Old Testament and New Testament focus on patience. Patience in uncertainty. Patience under trial. Patience under a heavy weight. Patience under fire. Patience in brokenness.

Have you ever woken up with a stiff neck and struggled all day due to it? Yeah, we've been there too, and although it feels pretty terrible, there is a "stiff neck syndrome" that affects us far worse than a common kink in the neck. The term "stiff necked" is used in the Bible (OT and NT) to describe a people, or oxen, that instead of living, bowing or moving in submission, reverence or response to direction, are one who hold a rigid pride and stand unwilling to bow or surrender. Psalm 18:30 reminds us that God's way is perfect, but for some reason both historically in the Bible and today, we as people have a difficult time bowing in submission to the commands and call of God, leading us to have stiff necks toward Him, others and our purpose. Listen to hear how you can ensure you live free from what we are calling "Stiff Neck Syndrome"

Creation was intended to rule, reign and have dominion with God. Yet, throughout time we have begun to desire earthly treasure over heavenly obedience, allowing the treasures of the world to usurp Lordship. What is the treasure, foundation and focus of your life/being? Let us go back to the intended purpose of Creation of Him being THE treasure of our lives. What you're willing to leave or sacrifice show more about where your riches are than anything else. Which kingdom are you building? Yours or His?

What is sustaining you? What do you put into your heart and soul that strengthens you to run the race in front of you?We have to find the nourishment in which the spiritual practical needs we have are assessed in the personhood of Christ.What you consume is what sustains. Be proactive in knowing what you are consuming.

Let's face it, we have good intentions, yet they can somehow still result in bad outcomes. We must renew our mind and commune with the Father daily or we will do and become the very things we hate. What are you doing to have good intentions and good outcomes? How do you live out God's intent for you?If you don't know where to start, you're listening to the right thing :)

Repentance at it's core is you saying that the Gospel is worth the behavior being changed. Repentance is a habit of commitment to your mind being changed. When you change your mind of living in this world you start to see a world that is not of it. Repentance is a gift of awareness. WORSHIP. PRAYER. REPENTANCE. REDUNDANTLY.

Do you have a habit of sharing your faith in your day to day life?We need to make sure that the great commission is not the great omission in our walk with Him. The crowd/society will always be an obstacle that will validate why you think you can't. We have a great opportunity for the purity of the Gospel to shine through. Community is the mission. The mission is community.

Due to technical difficulties the first few minutes of the message are not included. When God comes to prune our lives, it is intentional. He invites us to greater fruit by the removal of the things that don't produce it. Wounded sons and daughters make bitter mothers and fathers. Fight for healing.We were born again, not born against. Fight for peace. The cross comes before the crown. Fight against unmet expectations.

There are things in your life you will sacrifice anything for, is scripture one of them? Are you willing to change your behaviors, do you change your theology so your behavior feels better? When we do not understand or teach the Bible FULLY we allow culture to fill in the gaps, creating room for people to create offshoot religions and speculations of what the Bible really says. We will be people who believe, pursue, read and stand on the Word of God and transform ourselves through His word!

When the whole of us, is consumed with the whole of Him, we can become holy as He is holy. May we read the Bible hungry to rid ourselves of the spiritual ignorance that robs us of deeper intimacy in Him. We choose the Bible, for it is the way forward and it points to Him. May His words be the words we speak, know, become and utter when there are no words left to say. There are so many competing voices, so many denominations, so many distractions, that if we don't have the understanding of Scripture for ourselves, we won't have it long. Join us as we look through the lens of 2 Kings, to gain greater understanding of what it means to hear the word and do. We will be a people of biblical literacy. Wholistic Habits Resourcesfixatephx.com/habits

"Speak, your servant is listening"May our prayer life not be one that only consists of emergency, consumeristic, comfort driven prayers, but prayers of practicality, power and communion with the Father. We look through the lens of 1 Samuel 3:1-20, as we go deeper into what it means to walk in the wholisitc habit of prayer. The enemy is okay with you praying comfortable prayers, but if your prayers are only ever comfortable, you are missing out on the fullness of communion we can have with the Lord. Let us together develop a listening rhythm and lifestyle.

How aware of God, are you? Do you care to know Him more?What if you could view prayer as a moment of intimacy, experiencing Heaven on earth? There are many opinions and lenses we can look through when it comes to "how to pray", but listen and learn with us as we implement how Jesus commands us to pray in Matthew 6:6-12. May we be a contemplative people, who hear and do.

Do you holistically follow Him in every aspect of your life? Entirely. Fully. Completely. Totally. Absolutely. Thoroughly.Join us in this collection of messages, as we learn to live a WHOLY life, walking always with the Father.

Christ came for all by showing He came from all.Have you ever read the Bible and come across a long list of names and get slightly confused and a little overwhelmed? We understand. But trust us, these names have much greater meaning than you may have once thought or understood. The genealogy we find at the very start of the New Testament in Matthew 1 sets the table for who Jesus is, where He came from and where He is going. The beauty of the Christmas story isn't just the miraculous birth, but it is also about that birth establishing a new definition and fighting against the previously ingrained ideas of what/who can and cannot be used.

Remaining steadfast, looks like facing adversity we didn't see coming, and NOT having an identity crisis. Remaining steadfast means filtering your response behaviors through God, and through past provision. Remaining steadfast means preparing for the times when we will be tempted to believe that we are not seen or loved by God. Be encouraged to live a life of steadfastness, in constant pursuit of the Blesser even when we don't see the blessing.