“The reason that many travel to other places to serve is simply due to not wanting to face the real issues in their own home. Facing the needs in our own home often requires more than one to two weeks of service and it often has a price that many do not want to pay. So instead, many people often do things in foreign places to often avoid the real issues that they have in their own home.”

In other words what the Lord was teaching is about our human nature and how easy it can be to lose our balance when we neglect or overlook our own responsibilities at home. For when we neglect this principle of balance within our homes then this can open the door for Satan to weaken and oppress the body. We can easily see this over the last forty years here in America as I can witness this same lesson within my own life as well. Think about it! How long can a soldier in foreign missions stay focused when their own home is struggling to survive? How long can we expect foreign aid to continue when we can’t balance the input with the output?

This teaching explains to me why so many communities, missions and relationships become oppressed. Simply due to neglecting the basic principles of gardening and the importance of maintaining the roots of our foundation. By seeking to live a balanced life through the love of Jesus Christ we learn to plant ourselves upon the Rock of our foundation while staying in tune with the needs of the garden. It is also wise to understand that God calls some to plant while he calls others to assist with the harvest.

For God plants each one of us in different places and in different positions in order to serve His purpose and not our own. Unfortunately many fail to understand this so they allow their seeds to be blown in the wind rather than learning how to plant and work within garden. Think about it! Our home can be related to a garden just as our individual lives. What we give and receive plays a major roll within the productivity of the garden. The home garden is supposed to help serve the community as the community garden helps to serve the city to the state. For when we begin to take care of our own home garden then this leads to a productive harvest that can help feed foreign missions and help maintain the strength within our homes for future generations.

There is a great need within our own communities and our country for men and women that are willing to commit to the work that is needed in every community across America. This need is to simply do what God has called each of us to do and that is, to work within the gardens we have been given and to leave something behind for someone else. Without these men and women that are willing to grab hold of the plow and apply the Instruction of God to their local gardens we might as well prepare for an unproductive harvest and for the locust to continue to devour the crop. Many of you reading this may be thinking it is too late but I strongly disagree! For nothing is over until God say’s it is over!!!

How bad would it be to go home and hear one of these questions, “Why did you quit? Why did you not get up off the pughs to help your neighbors? Do you honestly think you were doing your job when you neglected your own home to take care of someone else’s? Why did you not stand up and vote for Godly leadership rather than give in to the popularity contest?  Did the numbers that came against you give you fear? Did you honestly think your voice or vote would not matter? Have you forgotten the very One who gives you Victory? Why did you simply fail to be a doer instead of just a hearer? There were blessings right at your feet but you simply lost your perspective. All you had to do was get up off the porch and put your hand to the plow to receive the blessings of God! But instead you allowed your fears, weak faith and laziness to infect the garden. This infection has not only affected you but other plants as well.

It is my sincere prayer for a spiritual Awakening here in America. I pray that Americans will recognize the season at hand and the need for true repentance on a national level. Lord help us clean up our own homes and communities so we can continue to spread your love and feed the hungry. Please give us strength and the wisdom to make the right decisions within our own home in order to refresh the garden and continue to supply the needs in foreign missions. Lord I know that nothing is over until You say that it is over, so please Lord forgive us on a national level of the innocent blood that has been shed from the Native Americans to the African Americans and for simply losing our balance with you…I love you Father and I thank you for the pits that you have picked me up from and I thank you for giving me a new life with purpose and with direction and may others find the same…For all glory is yours…amen

“A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’’ 

James A. Harrison

http://balancedlifeministry.org

http://specialdeliverybook.com

As far as the little sparrow he was not flying wildly within the porch but would just hop from place to place along the floor. The sparrow did not see the door when it was opened due to the screen blending in with nature. So I did what I have done in the past by propping the door open and then walking in behind the bird for him to move on his own toward the freedom from the screened in porch. In the past I have done this and rather enjoyed watching the birds (which I now recall have always been sparrows) being set free to observe their next actions in flight. Some fly out and simply sit on the outside rail. Some fly just a little ways and perch on the branch of a tree but this morning there was something different about this little sparrow.

He paused for a moment once he found the door but then he took off flying through the woods and into the valley behind our home. I could here him chirping and and calling out to other birds in his excitement of being set free. The chirps echoed through the valley as he flew through the trees. As I listened to the call of the sparrow that had been set free I then heard this message that relates to you and me.

Recognize the significance of not addressing  the hole and what happens when we try to patch our problems. Another point the Lord was teaching me was how the screen blended in with the world. This is a very important point to recognize. The screen was almost invisible and made by man but was there holding back the bird from flight and it took the help of another to step behind rather than in front to assist the sparrow along the Way.

The part that touched me the most was the chirping of the sparrow that had been set free. As I stood there on the porch listening to the bird that had been released from the bondage of something made by man it was then that God gave me this spiritual message that relates to His overall plan. The Lord then opened my eyes of futher freedom that can related to the formation of America in which we stand. For in our freedom it should ring from the hill tops and echo through the valleys for all to hear. Because there is nothing like the freedom in knowing that God is near.

Enjoy this song Let Freedom Ring as I pray that you will stand with me in the freedom that God has given us through His only Son that got behind each of us for our freedom today. The spiritual door is open and all we have to do is walk on through as Jesus has taught us the Way. I pray that we can learn from our past in order to stand in the love of Jesus for our future…Amen 

James A. Harrison

http://balancedlifeministry.org

http://specialdeliverybook.com

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9

James A. Harrison

http://balancedlifeministry.org

http://specialdeliverybook.com

Within a clock there are strong gears with big teeth and their are delicate gears with very sensitive teeth. Some of the gears can handle some things while others can not. Can you see the relation to this within people? How would you expect the function of the watch to move forward if some of the gears within had doubts? Now if you really want to look at this with a much broader view look at America as an overall clock and what would you find within the gears? This is where we can apply Matthew 12:25 “Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.”

This is why President Reagan said,”I believe with all my heart that standing up for America means standing up for the God who has so blessed our land. We need God’s help to guide our nation through stormy seas. But we can’t expect Him to protect America in a crisis if we just leave Him over on the shelf in our day-to-day living.” Within these messages this week there are much deeper lessons if you take the time to look below the surface. Too many times we look at the gears of the clock and see the corrosion but instead of doing something about it we try to cover it up and then wonder why we can’t move forward.

May I challenge you this morning to lift your eyes up three degrees off of what you see in order to move forward in the spirit of God. If there is some corrosion in your watch may I challenge you to get rid of it through God’s Word for the corrosion of one can affect many others. It is what we focus on that often limits our steps and when we learn to simply step forward placing our trust in God instead of man is when we can discover the blessings of God in the hand of time…. 

James A. Harrison

http://balancedlifeministry.org 

http://specialdeliverybook.com

It is in our nature to ask for immediate results and then overlook how God gives us just enough to get us through. If we were to receive everything that we asked for how would we know how to trust and appreciate what God has given? When we ask God to help us, be alert for the parting of the seas but learn to appreciate the manna that always supplies our needs.

It is how we learn to walk in life and serve with what we have been given that God will bless us with something more. I challenge you today and every other day to recognize what God has put right before you rather than wondering about something and possibly missing the very blessing which you could receive. ..amen

James Harrison

http://balancedlifeministry.org

http://specialdelivertbook.com

No one likes to see or experience difficult times but these test that come our way due to disobedience whether within our self or on a national level are there to get us back on track from where we took a wrong turn. Don’t ever become discouraged because what you see or what you hear because as you learn to trust in the Lord you will find a refuge and strong tower that will not only protect you but carry you through to reach the other side.

How awesome it is to live in these times and to be a part of the movement of God! Do you know your part? Are you ready to play ball? I had rather be prepared than not and I had rather see than to be blind….Here is a video clip to get your morning started & I pray you have an awesome day….http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLY7yI1xV-M

James A. Harrison

http://balancedlifeministry.org

http://specialdeliverybook.com

Within every word and action we make they should be driven out of the nails of love. For a nail that is driven outside of love is a nail that will never hold and what good is a home if we never learn how to build or stand? I challenge you this morning to examine your words and actions to see whom they serve in order to insure that your home is being built on a solid foundation with rooms to help others along the Way…

James A. Harrison

http://balancedlifeministry.org

http://balancedlifeministry.org

It is one thing to say thanks over what we have but another to pray over what we have been given. It is truly amazing at what we can discover with God when we slow down enough to listen as we open our hearts up in thanksgiving. For all God wants is for us to maintain our balance through the love of Jesus Christ while edifying the Kingdom of God in serving others as we give Him all glory…amen

James A. Harrison

http://balancedlifeministry.org

http://specialdeliverybook.com

 Within every waiting period there is growth and strength that should be taken place while learning to hold on to the Promises of God in obedience to His Word. These time periods are like the rings in a tree for in every ring of time we should be maturing and working to keep our house clean as our roots are deepening further in the foundation of God. May I challenge you this morning to seek God in prayer before you look in any other direction. Learn to listen to His guidance as He gives and be willing to simply do as He instructs….

James A. Harrison

http://balancedlifeministry.org

http://specialdeliverybook.com