17 JULY 2019 BODY OF CHRIST NEWS Take A Look In The Mirror Tell me, are your thoughts and behaviors toward fellow believers less than what your heavenly Father would have them to be? Is there someone whom you are “eying jealously,” as Saul did? Is there a brother or sister whom you perceive to be a threat to your position? Although the position may well have been given to you by God, it is not His will that you become possessive and territorial – the way a dog guards a bone! God is the One who opens doors that no man can shut, as Revelation 3:8 states, and nothing He gives you can be taken from you except by His divine permission. If He ordained it, then He will sustain you in it- rest assured of that. Ask yourself this question: “Is there someone in the body of Christ to whom I have been directing an undue amount of attention, someone to whom I have been comparing myself or even with whom I have been competing?” Often, when you fall into the same trap that Saul fell in, you become competitive, self-seeking and self-promoting. Are you engaging in “power plays” or attempting to do things that will upstage your perceived opponent? If you are, then watch out! That is not a mandate of God but a mis- sion of the devil! The apostle James wrote: “If ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work” (James 3:14-16) Saul's repeat plots, schemes and attempts to take David's life marred his life. While you may not be going so far as to cause a person's physical death, are you guilty of activities that undermine their spiritual life, well-being or ministry? Are you spread- ing rumors, gossip or slander, undermining their authority or their agenda, or seeking to destroy their influence with others? In some ways these detrimental activities can be deadlier than the sharpest knife. If his natural life were taken, that believers would simply go on to be with the Lord. But if his influence is destroyed or his name smeared, the effects of such carnal sabotage can have far-reaching consequences that will linger for many years. Far be it for any professed child of God to engage in such behavior. Indeed, “let no cor- rupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying…. Let all bit- terness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tender- hearted.” (Eph. 4:29, 31-32). Let us remember brothers & sis- ters in Christ, if the role you are in is one that was given to you by God, then that is a blessed place, an honorable role. I once heard a pastor say, “True success is being in the perfect will of God, then.” We may lose sight of that fact when the place we are in is not glamorous, or we feel unappreciated. Detrimental thoughts come into our minds, and we feel overlooked, undervalued and unappreciated. “What good does it do me to be who I am?” we range, and look with envious, resent- ful eyes at those we perceive to be better off than ourselves. If we fail to cast down these hurtful, self defeating and negative thoughts, they soon take root in our verbal affirmations and actions, and instead of maintaining our confidence in the good plans and purposes of God holding fast to the assurance that in due time God will exalt us, we resort to our own devices. Granted, I understand that there are times in our life when you may become dissatisfied with what you are doing and where you are going. A healthy dissatisfaction will always lead to positive growth. But the desire to “do better” or go higher” in any realm-personal, professional or spiritual should never be at the expense of someone else's well being or your own. Those quests that are godly in origin and nature will never cause us to violate the biblical principles clearly articulated in the Word of God, and it will not cause us to resort to the types of activities outline by the apostle James: “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” (James 4;1-3) Ask yourself the question, “what drives you?” Does the presence of God still inspire you, overwhelm you and fill you with awe? Does you soul reach out for more of God? Do you find your thoughts drifting heavenward during the course of the day? Do passages of Scripture or the words of a gospel song enter your mind as you go about your day? Or sadly, are you more like Saul- your thoughts centered on how you can “get ahead” and jealous of anyone who you feel is “standing in your way”? Can you remember what your spirit was like before envy and jealousy maligned and disfigured it? Do you remember the joy you experience when you heard testimonies of victory, the agreement you experienced when words of truth were ministered by a colaborer in the gospel? If you have been bound by the distractions of envy and jealousy, I hope that you will cry out to God in repentance and allow Him to set you back on the path toward His will in your life. It's the only way… “I love you God, I'm gonna keep my eyes fixed on you.” By Rev. Dr. PM Wynn Grove SERMON PM Wynn Grove Rev. Dr. PM Wynn Grove and her husband Pastor Lee Grove are Associate Pastors at the Potters House of Denver. They are the Founders of Heavenly Sent Ministries. Dr. Grove can be reached at pmwynn9@msn.com Not by Sight It's a wrap. The Colorado 2019 leg- islative session has ended and what a session it was! This year we made historic progress. While some com- plained about too much, too fast, we put families, kids, communities, and public health first. We delivered real results for the future of Colorado. Lawmakers took bold action to fund full-day kindergarten for students and their parents. We expanded 5,000 slots for 4-year-olds in preschool and approved income tax credits for pre- school teachers to boost their low sal- aries. We advanced access and reduce healthcare cost as well as gave locals control where oil and gas drilling happens. We enhanced voting rights, reform criminal justice practices and passed legislation to prevent gun vio- lence by people suffering from mental illness in crisis. Overall, a total of 462 bills passed out of 598 and 61 bills failed. The tobacco and nicotine bill, rent con- trol and immunization bill remain unfinished business. In the final week of the session, we shored up $300 million for road projects, passed Equal Pay for Equal Work, established an affordable Housing Fund, addressed climate change and protect- ed our water, land, and air. One thing is clear to me, my journey is my daily testimony and I thank the Lord for everything I've been through, because it's humbling and has made me stronger in my faith. God called me from the margins of society to step out in faith to do "Good." He aligned me with my divine purpose and pushed me beyond my trauma, mix emotions, and insecurities. My Lord called me to enlarge my territory and walk by faith not by sight to serve the People of Colorado. By Sen. Rhonda Fields