Monday, February 15, 2010

White in my yard!





I woke up last Friday morning and thought I had awaken in Saschatchawan! Friday's are my days off so I enjoyed it with the family! Here are a few pics!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Through His Eyes

My wife Jodi and friend Alicia Hinton have a blog entitled, "Through His Eyes", that you can view by going to www.ajimages.blogspot.com

These two girls are super talented, creative, and take FANTASTIC pictures!

Check it out!

Beck

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Around midnight

In Acts 16 we read that Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown into prison. What led up to their imprisonment was Paul casting a demon out of a slave girl that was a fortune-teller who earned a lot of money for her masters. So in verse 24 we read that the jailer had Paul and Silas put into the inner dungeon where their feet were clamped into the stocks. Simply put, these boys were in a dark situation and weren't going anywhere! Now these guys weren't in prison because of some foolish decision they had made. No, they were here for advancing the Kingdom of God and coming against darkness! They were here by doing good to a young woman who was possesed by the enemy of her soul!

What amazes me is verse 25 which says, "Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening." There are a few things that really stand out to me.

#1 It was around midnight.
-It was dark and they were in no situation that any of us (at least our flesh)would want to be in.

#2 They prayed.
-Even though they were in a dark situation they believed God. They stood fast and trusted in the one that could/would deliver them.

#3 They sang hymns.
-They could have mumbled and complained but instead-they sang!

#4 The other prisoners were listening!
-The other prisoners were listening to what the men of God would say. Would they hear them doubting the God they said they believed in or would they hear the voice of faith and praise?

You may find yourself in a "midnight" time, hour, or place in your life. I would encourage you to let their be a song of praise on your heart and lips! I would encourage you to stay on your knees praying and believing! Lastly, there are people around you watching and listening to how you will respond to the dark hour in your life! What will they hear? What will they see!

Oh yea, by the way God showed up and delivered Paul and Silas!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Renovations, Additions, and Services in the Gym!





Below are some pictures of the renovations taking place across the street in our old santuary. It will be completely renovated/remodeled along with additional seating, lobby area, etc.

This past Sunday was our second service in the gym that was totally transformed so we could hold services there for the next 7-8 months! People were blown away at how well it looked! We have had two of our largest attendances the past year just in these past two weeks in the gym! We are having to order an additional 100 chairs! Praise the Lord!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Generations Underway!

It's been almost two years now since that "First Fruits" Sunday where over $600,000 was recieved to begin a two year "Generations Building Campaign". Two years later, this Sunday, will be our last Sunday service in our existing Sanctuary! A week from now we will begin our complete renovation of our parking lot, sanctuary, and many other things. I'm sitting here in my office and can hear the construction taking place in the gym now, that will be our temporary worship center for the next 8 months or so while construction is going on across the street. I am so excited about the future of Family Church! We praise God for the giving that has continued the past two years to get us where we are today. Praise God for people's willingness to hear God and to continue to be faithful until we see this take place!

For video footage go to www.familychurch.org, click on "church information, and there you will see "Generations".

Pray for us as we enter this new phase at Family Church!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Celebrating Ten Years of Scrooge

Family Church's big gift to the community each year is the presentation of the "Gospel According to Scrooge". This takes months of planning, LOTS of money, sacrifice, and dedication from the people. We invite the community, free of charge, to come view this powerful presentation for two weeks here at 320 Laird Street. This year we had over 8,000 attendees come and view how the life-changing power of Christ can transform a person! We have already had so many wonderful testimonies from people within the community that was touched through "Scrooge".

Thanks Arvil and Cheryl for doing such a great job leading this each year!

Friday, December 04, 2009

Scrooge!

I'm sitting here in my office waiting to walk across the street for the second night of "The Gospel According to Scrooge". If you haven't seen this yet then you need to go to www.familychurch.org and get your tickets! General Admission is free and Reserved Seating is only $10.00! Invite family, a friend, a co-worker and come hear the life-changing message of Christ!

Monday, November 16, 2009

Youth Deer Hunt



We had three of our youth and the chariman of our deacon board come out to the house this past Saturday for a deer hunt. Richard Richardson Jr. took Taylor Moore on his very first deer hunt ever. Richard and Taylor saw a total of seven deer (two bucks) but couldn't quite pin one down. I took Danny and Kyle Phillips with me to two of my other stands. Kyle saw a doe about 30 yards off but got by him. Danny's time came with only about ten more minutes until we had to get down to head to the house for a big breakfast. Danny took a shot at a spike that was about 100 yards away at about 9:15 A.M. We went down and saw no sign of blood. We met up with the other boys and headed to the house for a big breakfast Jodi had prepared. Bacon, biscuits, sausage, eggs, cheese grits, orange juice, coffee, and I'm making my self hungry all over again! We broke bread and read out of James chapter 1 about how we deal with difficult times in our lives. We all saddled back up and headed to the woods in search for Danny's deer. When all hope seemed to be lost we came across the young buck and the smile on Danny's face was priceless! It was a great morning for a group of young men!

Thursday, November 05, 2009

The Whole Armor of God




We had our "Family Nite" this past Tuesday. "Family Nite" is our time each week where my family comes together to pray, worship, and study God's word. This past week we read out of Ephesians 6:10-17. We talked about putting on the full armor of God. I was able to get a hold of some toy armor. We had fun explaining each piece of armor to Gracen as she put them on (the breastplate of righteousness is a bit too big as you will see!). I'm sitting here explaing to my daughter about the armor she will one day need to put on herself to fight the enemy of her soul. There is something very special and very powerful that takes place when we gather together with our family to worship God in our homes.

God, help us raise a family that will pass the faith on for 1,000 generations to come.

Monday, November 02, 2009

Fall Fun!


From now until the end of December is by far my favorite time of the year! Cooler weather, change of colors, Thanksgiving, Christmas, DEER HUNTING! It just doesn't get any better than this! This past weekend was opening weekend of hunting season so it was off to the woods (as if I haven't been spending time there). Loved watching the four-legged creatures but am still waiting for the granddaddy of em all!

Saturday night we loaded up to head to 320 Laird Street for some Fall Festivities! Good thing I already had my costume on! Gracen dressed up like a bee and Addelyn a little duck. I had to eat fifty bowls of gumbo to get filled and Gracen went through the giant jumper a hundred times! Loved it! Claiborne Christian did a great job putting it on!

Thursday, October 29, 2009

28 Reasons Why I Love My Wife

Today my wife Jodi turns 28 years old! So I thought I'd list 28 reasons why I love her.

1. She is in love with God!
2. She hears the voice of God. (scary sometimes!)
3. She is a wonderful mother!
4. She takes great care of our home!
5. She takes great care of me!
6. She is a wonderful friend to so many people!
7. She is wise!
8. She is absolutely beautiful!
9. She is a "country gal".
10. She is an "off the chain" cook!
11. She is all about family!
12. She is very creative!
13. She is a whole lot of fun to be around!
14. She has an awesome smile!
15. She is very giving!
16. She is a wonderful partner and support in ministry!
17. She is super kind!
18. She is sacrificial!
19. She is content!
20. She has beautiful eyes!
21. She is a respectful and submissive wife!
22. She has a tender heart!
23. She loves animals!
24. She loves to travel and go to different places!
25. She loves sports!
26. She is Godly!
27. She is very helpful!
28. She is a great listener!
and #29 for one to grow on...She has an unbelievable husband!

I love you Jodi and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
27.
28.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Family Worship Time







"Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all of your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

Last night we had our weekly family worship time where we came together as a family unit to sing, pray, read God's word, and have a blast! I understand now more than ever that God has given me, the husband/father, the responsibility to lead my family towards Jesus Christ. I have been passionate about many things in my life. One in particular is evangelism. Through the years I've been involved in jail ministry, street ministry, missions, etc., etc., etc., but none comes close to the evangelization of my own kids. God gives us, no commands us, as parents to evangelize and disciple our very own. I am understanding more and more that truly the heartbeat of God is family. The very first "organization" in his word is just that-family. When we describe the trinity the wording is -family. "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When God illustrates his relationship with the church he uses "Bride of Christ and the Bridegroom". Again-family. The best way to evanglize the world is again-family, through multi-generational faithfulness. Jodi and I are very early in the journey with our kids but I thank God he has placed within us passion, placed around us mentors, and placed us in a church that bleeds family. With Hell having an all out assault on the family until it will take a strong spiritual gameplan and the power of the Holy Spirit to raise our sons and daughters to walk with God in a world that does just the opposite.

Last night we sang a few songs together, prayed, and then taught Gracen the story of Noah. Gracen has a Noah's Ark with alot of animals so we used that as an object lesson. We then acted out animals and let her guess which animal we were acting out. It was a lot of fun and seeds from God's word were planted in her heart. I want her to be raised knowing it is normal for a family to worship together in their home just as normal it is for the body of Christ to worship together in the house of God.

Enjoy some of the pics Jodi took!

Monday, October 26, 2009

Life's Disappointments


In over eighteen years of deer hunting I've only missed ONE opening morning of rifle season (the first year I ever hunted) and never have missed an opening morning of muzzle loader. Well..that first morning came this past Saturday. All day Friday I had sighted in my muzzleloader and did prep work to get me ready for Saturday morning. The weather was to be PERFECT! I was so very excited! Earlier in the week I spent all morning and night taking care of Jodi and Gracen who had a horrible stomach bug. Thankfully I hadn't gotten it! After coming in Friday night from a squirrel hunt down by the house my stomach started making funny sounds. The rest is history. Hugged up by the toilet at 3:30 AM I knew my hopes of the morning hunt were done. For six hours my best friend was 7-UP, a wet rag, and the toilet (not to mention my good wife). I woke up about 8:30 walked on the porch and was again sick (this time emotionally) as I watched the gorgeous morning and knew the deer had to have moved by my stand. As the day grew I began feeling so much better. About 4:30 PM I grabbed the "smoke pole", my camo bag, and my NLT and headed for my "Church Stand" as I call it. About an hour in I had two doe come out and one had my name on it. After going back to the house to pick up "Champ" my old trusted Yellow Black Mouth Cur we went in to retrieve the deer. After what seemed to be such a disappointing morning turned in to a "dream" fulfilled.

The Bible says in Proverbs 13:12 "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life."

So many folks hopes and dreams have been put off due to life's situations. A promise of God that seems to go unfulfilled. A God given vision that seems to go unfulfilled. A "turn" in life that was unexpected. All of these have a way of "making our heart sick" at times. You never know when that "hope" to be fulfilled is waiting around the corner. When that promise of God is just days from being fulfilled. When that "unanswered prayer" is only hours from being answered. When that God given vision is only an arm length away. Learn a lesson from the deer hunt.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Small Group Outreach

I took my 8th grade boys small group down to the corner of Desiard and 6th Street in downtown Monroe yesterday afternoon to hook up with Ricky Nolan. Ricky is the founder of Hope Street Ministries and has served the poor now for over 28 selfless years. We met under the I-20 bridge and preached from a "dirt pulpit". I opened it up reading out of Isaiah 53:6 sharing about how we all like sheep have left God's paths to follow our own. I then shared the different parables in Luke 15 about the lost sheep, lost coin,and the lost son. Bro. Rick followed me up reading out of Romans 15. We were able to pray and minister to the needs of the people afterwards. Flo Worster also brought down her 8th grade girls small group who helped feed the people a nice warm meal. I'm so proud of our young people and them being active in serving the poor. This is always my boys favorite small group activity!

You can read more about Hope Street Ministries by clicking the link to the right of this blog.

Monday, October 12, 2009

What I love about F.C.

We had a great weekend at Family Church. Presence driven worship, I got the priviledge of baptizing four folks, and Michael Stravato brought a powerful/challenging word on suffering.

As I was getting ready this morning several "things" were stirring in my heart. One of those "things" was on the subject of why I love Family Church so much. Here are a few:

1. The Word of God is preached in it's fullness from the pulpit.

2. We are challenged daily to live out what is being preached from the pulpit.

3. A tremendous focus is placed on the family unit. The most effective approach/method in discipleship and evangelism is through the family.

4. The wonderful relationships I get to be apart of.

5. The "ship" is always moving forward. F.C. is always striving to go forward towards the goal God has called us to.

6. Family Church is a GREAT place to raise your family!

These are just a few reasons of why I love Family Church so much!

Friday, September 18, 2009

What is your family's game plan?

I was sitting at a high school football game several years ago watching a team that had a tradition of winning championships. Their offensive plan of attack was always the “triple option”. They had run this offense for years and although “slow”, “dirty”, and not very “flashy” it was tough as ever for any defense to stop it. They had nearly perfected this plan and ran this “smash mouth” type offense successfully for years. I remember sitting at this one particular game where it was taking the team a little bit longer to get going and it was as if this offensive strategy wasn’t working anymore. I heard well-meaning but ignorant fans hollering from the stands, “Come on Coach! Run another play!” and “Throw the ball Coach!”. Sitting sixteen rows up in the stands I still knew what was going through those coaches minds-“Stick with the gameplan”. Eventually, their offense “blew the gates open” and their proven plan had worked again. I commended these coaches in my heart in that they stuck with the gameplan even when the pressure was on. Even when they were ridiculed and being mocked by their own fans. Even when they weren’t seeing immediate results. And especially because they didn’t throw out the proven playbook to follow someone else’s.

Like sports, we have gameplans for almost every other thing in life. If we want to loose weight we have a game plan to do that. If we have a financial goal to get out of debt or retirement we have that. When I was in the insurance and financial services field I had a hourly plan, a daily plan, a weekly plan, a monthly plan, and an annual business plan. My proven goal each day was one that had been proven successful by other agents who came about long before me. It was “Set two appointments a day each day for sometime in the future.” I did not leave my office each day until that goal had been met. I knew if I called enough people, got in front of enough people eventually I would get the appointments I needed. I knew even if people told me “no” I was just around the corner from a “yes”.

So back to my original question, “What is your family’s gameplan?” It doesn’t take a genious to look around and see that something is not right. You can even look back only 40 or 50 years ago and see a huge melt down from the family. God has laid out a specific gameplan in his word on our roles as husbands, wives, and children. And I believe he gives each family a specific gameplan just for that family to carry out. The truth is we have an enemy that is out to destroy the family unit and we can’t just expect and just “hope for the best.” If we just sit idely by and just go through the motions we will either be totally defeated or never live up to our potential. This takes specific, intentiall action on our parts to execute the plan!
I have had a passion for several things in my Christian walk but one that burns deep into my soul is for my family. Over the past seven years the vision God has given my family has gotten more and more narrow and more and more focused. Now, I believe without a shadow of a doubt that God has given the Payne Family a very specific plan to follow and it is my job as the head of my home to cast that vision to my wife and family. My wife is the one with the legs that helps me carry it out every single day. I could not do it without her heart and soul. Fortunately, she is just as or more passionate about it than I am. We can’t afford to put “hot items” on the back burner like we do our lawns that need to be mowed. This is urgent and needs immediate attention. I can’t tell you how many times I just cry and cry in prayer when I realize the briefness of time that we trully have with my daughters. Will we do a good enough job? Will they be ready to take on the world? Will they reproduce what we are instilling in them? Will they fall in love with Jesus Christ? Will they make wonderful, loving, Godly wives to their husbands one day? All of this can become quite overwhelming. It is then I realize that we are at the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ. We need his Holy Spirit to give us wisdom, courage, and confindence in His plan. We need the power of his Holy Spirit working and molding the characters of our daughters. Without this vital ingredient nothing will work. But with this vital ingrediant anything is possible.

Here are some quesitons to ask ourselves?

1) What is the gameplan for my family at this stage in life?
2) Are we executing and carrying out that plan?
3) What do we need to change in our lives to get with the gameplan God has given my family?
4) Are the players of the home following the gameplan?

Some examples of some goals to set.These are some I have laid out for our youth workers before.

1) Goal #1-To become Fully Devoted to Jesus
• How will this be carried out? How will we "get there"? It’s not just going to “happen”. The Bible tells us to “train ourselves to be Godly.”
• Spend quality time each day to connect with Christ. Read and study his word, worship time, stay connected with the Body of Christ, etc.
• Through off the “sins” and other things in our lives that will hinder us from reaching this goal.

2) Goal #2-Have a strong marriage
• How will this be met? How will we "get there?" "How will we strive towards this?"
• Over the next 30 days my wife/husband and I will have “date nights”, or other times where we can connect each other, and communicate.

3) Goal #3-Raise Godly Children
• How will this be met?
• Modeling a godly walk with Christ in front of them, Model a godly marriage in front of them. Spending quality time with them. Training and teaching them.
• Learning from other godly parents that have walked before us.

These are just examples and allow the Holy Spirit to give you specifics for your family, marriage, and children as we each are wired differently. I will get very specific with our gameplan and our roles, etc. with my family.
We have been given the great priviledge and responsibility to be apart of family. Is it serious enough to us that we have sat down, prayed, listened to the Holy Spirit, and written down a specific gamplan for the household? Restassured, the enemy of our souls has a very specific gameplan to tear down the family unit. We can’t afford to allow him the victory in our family.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Street Ministry Recap

I've known Ricky Nolan now for almost ten years now and had the priviledge of him being in my wedding. It's been that long since I first showed up in South Monroe on the corner of Desiard Street under the I-20 Bridge to help out with Hope Street Ministries. I was laughing with someone this past Sunday about this street ministry being some of my "training ground" for preaching. I respect a man that has faithfully served the poor in downtown Monroe now for over 23 years. I great award awaits Bro. Rick in heaven. Because of my change of responsibilities and calling now I don't spend as much time on Sunday afternoons as I once did but when the clock strikes four every Sunday evening I know Ricky Nolan is tending to God's business down in the slums. Occasionally I bring some boys I mentor down on the "streets" to let them get a look at life from a different perspective. To view a different world they don't know much about. This past Sunday I "kicked off" the meeting on the streets with the "open air" style they are used to. Golden Goutreaux came in behind me to wrap it up. Afterwards we prayed for all who would receive it. Then my boys helped serve the people a nice warm meal.

Afterwards, I had a young girl stroll up to me in a wheelchair. It was a bit difficult to interpret her speech but her name was Sarah. Sarah was 6 years old and went to Calhoun Middle School. She was so excited to tell me that she had made a 100% on both her Social Studies and English tests! She asked me to pray for her as she prepares for her 7th Grade year. I was humbled at the joy this crippled girl possessed. I was amazed when I discovered Sarah has dreams of going to college. I held her hand and we prayed.

I asked my boys how many of them got to decide how, when, and where they were born. There response obviously was "we didn't". But by the grace of God you could have been born into a circumstance that your mind can't even imagine. We are all one bad choice away from receiving a meal under a bridge every week. We are not above any of it. We are no better. We are serving Jesus when we hand each man, woman, boy, or girl a hot meal and a "God Bless You". I could have very easily ended up in a bad, bad situation if God hadn't seen it fit to "rescue" me. I thank God he did. But to those who are "still out there" we must continue to serve them as if they were Christ. You can visit Hope Street Ministries website at my links portion to the right of this post.

Thanks Rick for "doing what you do".

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Your personal wilderness

In Matthew 3 we read of Jesus coming out of the water as he is being baptized by John the Baptist and a voice from heaven saying, "This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy." What a great "highlight" in the life of Jesus to hear the Father say that he is pleased with his son. So now what? He's going to cast him right out into ministry right? Wrong. The Father sends his son Jesus straight into the wilderness. "Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil." For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry." (Matthew 4:1-2)Here Jesus found himself out in a dry barren place without food, without water, without human communication, there with the devil being tempted. Here Jesus found himself in another "training ground". He was being molded, trained, and equipped one last time before being sent out into the world he came to save.After Jesus was tempted in the wilderness the Bible says that the devil left him until the next opportunity came. What's awesome is what I read in the next verse of Luke 4:14. "Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the HOly Spirit's power." Jesus had been in his own personal wilderness for forty days but then left in the Holy Spirit's power!Jesus' earthly ministry then began. What was it that God was working in him during those forty days? Brokeness? Trust? Soul searching?

Take John the Baptist for instance. In Luke 1:80 it says, "John grew up and became strong in spirit. And he lived in the wilderness until he began his public ministry to Israel" Was this "wilderness" that God had Jesus and John the Baptist stay in a place to prepare them for the work he had called them to do? Was it a place where they could hear from God before they went out to speak to the people? So many times we want to avoid the wilderness (these types) when the HOly Spirit placed these people in the wilderness!

Look at the story of David found in I. Samuel 16. The Lord was about to replace Saul when he told the prophet Samuel to go to the house of Jesse to anoint God's new man. Jesse brought out all of his sons (except David) for the man of God to look over. Although Samuel thought surely one of the Lord's anointed stood before him (because he was judging outwardly) he wasn't. When Samuel asked if he had anymore sons Jesse told him there was the youngest out tending the sheep. Wow! His on father didnt see the potential that was in his own boy! When David came the Lord said, "This is the one; anoint him". Man, how could this young boy grow up to be a "giant killer" and "King"? You see David had already been in his own personal wilderness where God was training and preparing him when no one else was watching. In I. Samuel 17 David approached Saul about fighting Goliath and Saul responds with, "Don't be ridiculous!" "There's no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You're only a boy, and he's been a man of war since his youth." What David says next amazes me. "I have been taking care of my father's sheep and goats," he said. "When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. I have done this to both lions and bears, and I'll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God!" God had already prepared this young boy to take out this Goliath. He had done so when David was in his own personal wilderness. David also wrote some wonderful Psalms when he was in his own wilderness as well. Laying with his sheep all alone at night in the fields he must have learned to hear from God and to worship him. Being chased from cave to cave David must have learned brokeness and humility. God was training this man not with human methods but by his own plan.

I can remember the years of my own personal experience. Knowing that God had a call on my life and trying to follow the very non-traditional path he was taking me own was hard. But it was during those years I walked through my own personal wilderness where I learned to pray, fast, and seek the Lord. During these times he was breaking me so that he could truly use me one day. It was during these times where I had to learn to hear his voice. It was during these times where he was training me for future purposes. Then it was very hard but now I look back and thank God for them. I know there will be more personal wilderness' in the future because I know he still has greater things in store.

Are you in a season in life where you find yourself in your own personal wilderness? I'm not talking about a wilderness that comes from bad choices, rebellion, or stuborness.I'm talking about one in which the Holy Spirit has led you in. Take heart! God wants to mold you, train you, and prepare you for things ahead. Submit yourself to his work and allow him to mold you!

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

The hidden evil of jealousy

When we think of evil what comes to mind? Murder? Rape? Child molestation? I was watching on the news last night of a man who had kidnapped a little girl and held her captive for eighteen years sexually abusing her. I can't think of a much evil action than that. Sure murder and rape are evil but so many times other "smaller sins" seem to fly under our radar or we tend to overlook them as "not as evil".

"So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech." (I Peter 2:1) In the list of a few evils you will see the word "jealousy." We don't think much of jealousy as being "evil". We laugh at it or see it as "normal" but God's word calls it evil.

So what do people get jealous over? Maybe others looks or build? Maybe someone else gre up in a more exampletory family and you didn't. Maybe you didn't get chosen for something while a friend of yours did. Maybe God is using someone you know in a great way while you feel "inferior".

"When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkeness,wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God." (Galatians 5:19-21)

Galatians is clear in that when we are jealous we are submitting to our sin nature and the consequences of living that type of lifestyle is serious.

"A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones." (Proverbs 14:30)

When there is jealousy in our hearts we are not at peace. When we allow jealousy to enter our hearts its like a cancer that eats at us from the inside out. Allowing it (jealousy) to live will kill us and relationships!

Some things I've found helpful in fighting back jealousy is:

1) "Do not be conformed to the patterns of this world but be transformed by the renewing of the mind." (Romans 12:2)

2) Be happy for people!

3) Pray and ask Got to conitinue to bless them and ask God to help with the things lurking in your heart.