James Is Your Friend

I want to thank everyone who has been reading my blogs and watching my videos over this past year.  I’m honored that you would choose to waste your time on this site.
 
Unfortunately, I must tell you that I am going to be taking a break.  It was a hard decision and I will miss you all.  I am currently redoing my time management situation and part of that is by simplifying my life.  Jamesisyourfriend.com is one of the projects that I decided I needed to put on hold to refocus and simply my life.  This simplification process will allow me to more effectively glorify God in the higher priorities of my life.

However, this is not the end.  I will come back to write many more blogs on how Christ’s love must be shown and shared to this culture.  In fact, I have 4 blogs that I have been drafting recently and I will post them when I come back.  I do not know how long of a break I am going to take, it could be 3 months to even a year.  Please keep me in your prayers as I seek God’s guidance during this refocusing time.

And always remember….my name is James and I am your friend. :-)


Posted on 09/27/11 at 4:35pm

Everyone knows someone who tests their patience.  Can you think of that person?  We all have people in our lives that bring us to the threshold of our patience because of reasons ranging from them being annoying or different all the way to them even being mean, hurtful, and causing suffering.  These people may be in our family, be our friends, or at our work, school, church, and other regular meeting places.  

I know that I am not immune to this test of patience.  I can remember working with someone who was very hard to work with.  They were very arrogant and condescending.  There were times that I had to spiritually prepare myself before walking into the door to work.  I also know that my wife is not immune to this.  I have been the cause of a lot of my wife’s struggle for patience.  I know that God loves me because He gave me a wife that can deal with my personality, weaknesses, and my times of stupidity.

Patience is important to discuss because….  (read more ->)

Posted on 08/25/11 at 9:20pm

Many of us ask the question, “What is God’s Will for my life?”  This is a good question and we all struggle with this.  We sometimes wish that God would just lay out a roadmap before us detailing His plan in our life.  I constantly hear people say, “I just wish I knew God’s Will for me.”  Is it possible to know God’s Will for your life, right now?

Well, first of all, we must remember exactly what it means to know God’s Will for our lives: God’s Will is what is in His Word.  A lot of times, we think that we have to have this “revealing” moment where we know exactly what God wants us to do.  Of course, that can happen sometimes, but most of the time it is simply living God’s Word.  Basically, we can do whatever we want and still be in His Will as long as we are living according to His Word.  Also, in order to truly know how God’s Word applies in our lives specifically, we have to follow Romans 12:1-2:

“I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

This verse basically tells us a few things about understanding God’s Will: 

1) We need to be living completely surrendered to Him by sacrificing ourselves (our desires, our selfishness) to Him.  This sacrifice to Him is “living” and “holy.” We need to be actively pursuing Christ and His love.  We need to be “alive” with complete satisfaction and fulfillment in Christ.  We need to get our joy, strength, identity, and security from Christ.  We need to be “holy” in that we are set apart from the world - we live, feel, think, speak, and act differently. 

2) We need to be being transformed into Christ and not be conforming to the world.  That means that we have different values, beliefs, behavior, and worldview from the world.  We don’t listen to the messages that they send our way because their messages just cloud our understanding of God’s Will and His Word. 

3) We need “renewed minds.”  We need to allow God to completely control our thoughts and attitudes.  We need to use our minds to guard our hearts.  That means that we have to not fill our minds with all the useless crap that the world sends our way all the time (esp. through movies, TV, music, internet, etc).  We need to fill our minds with God’s Word.  

Now, the question is, what does all this mean for us specifically?  Well, it really means that God’s will is for us to glorify Him by knowing Him and making Him known.  If you are going to do something that follows that purpose, then that is God’s Will.  I usually tell anyone that if they are going to do something that is about the glory of God, I say, ”Go For It!”  Of course, there are some conditions to this:  1) If your heart is right with God.  2) If your motivations are pure.  3) If you are wisely thinking about the choice.

 Knowing God’s Will for your life is simple: Know His Word.  Now, it may be simple to know, but it sure is hard to live.  That’s why we must make our relationship with Christ the priority in our lives in order for Him to live His Word through us.  Stop worrying about God’s Will for your life, start living out God’s Word along with Christ.


Posted on 08/15/11 at 11:05pm   

On our way to Sub Zero one day after visitation, I saw this cloud that looked really cool.  Then I noticed that it was right in front of the sun and it looked epic.  I really wanted to take a picture of it, but I was driving a van full of students, so I decided to be safe and did not take a picture.  However, just recently, I found out that one of the students had taken a picture of it and she sent me the picture.  Check it out and thanks Ashley!

If you want to see more of my Crazy Cloud pictures (and video) check out my previous posts:
Crazy Clouds 1
Crazy Clouds 2
Crazy Clouds 3
Crazy Clouds 4


Posted on 08/08/11 at 7:25pm  

I have never claimed to be a poet.  I am not good at artistic stuff, including poems.  However, I do try to write small rhymes at times to glorify God.  One day, I was thinking about life and how somedays can just seem to be horrible.  But, even when those days seems like they suck, I know that Christ made that day for a reason.  So, I came up will a small saying that helps me through those days.  I figured I would share it with you to maybe help you when you have a bad day.

Its just one of those days to glorify my King. 

In the midst of all the pain and suffering, 

I will hope in the joy that He will bring.

(Check out my other feeble attempts at poetry: A Short Poem 1 & A Short Poem 2)

Posted on 08/5/11 at 2:15pm

The whole world doesn’t hate you. 

But, even if every person in the entire world was actively and consciously hating you, so what?!?!  If you have Christ, you have everything.  All you need is Christ.  He alone will satisfy.  He alone will fulfill.  He alone should be the basis of your life, strength, joy, security, esteem, and identity.  He is the only one who ultimately matters because He is the only one who perfectly and truly loves you and will never leave you nor hate you…ever.  Stop trying to gain something from everyone else, just gain everything from Christ.

I’d rather be hated by the entire world and have Christ, then to be loved by the entire world and only give half of my heart to Christ.

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me (Christ) before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” John 15:18-19.

So, my friends, you have a choice: Are you going to get fulfillment from others or are you going to get your fulfillment in Christ alone?

Much love.  :)


Posted on 07/28/11 at 3:20pm

So, at Summer Camp with the youth, there was this weird storm cloud that came across the sky.  I attempted to take a picture of it, but it doesn’t look as cool as it did in person.  Anyways, here are the pics:

 

If you want to see more of my Crazy Cloud pictures (and video) check out my previous posts:
Crazy Clouds 1
Crazy Clouds 2
Crazy Clouds 3

Posted on 06/27/11 at 10:40pm 

Everyone suffers.  It could be from circumstances, feelings, physical pain, or just life.  Life is hard and painful at times.  Sometimes we feel as if the world is strangling us and we can’t breathe.   Sometimes storms come and cause us to start drowning, painfully gasping for air.  Death happens, betrayal happens, depression happens, breakups happen, poverty happens, evil happens……
life happens.

However, in the midst of the struggle and in the midst of the storm, there is someone who changes everything….He changes how we see suffering…He changes how we view life….He changes life.

This someone is Christ.  Christ is the answer, Christ defeats evil, Christ changes life.

So, whenever you suffer and are going through a hard time, look to Christ.  He is the only one that you truly need.  He is the only one who can truly fulfill and satisfy you to the point where trials and storms in life will not break you down or destroy you.  You can get through it all if you just look to Christ:

1.  Look to Christ who knows what its like to suffer.

“We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are….Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” Hebrews 4:15, Luke 24:26

2.  Look to Christ who suffered, yet was innocent.

“Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” 1 Peter 2:21-22

3.  Look to Christ who is victorious over evil sources of suffering.

“Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand, with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.” 1 Peter 3:22

4.  Look to Christ who will bring you through suffering with strength in Him.

“The Lord said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”  2 Corinthians 12:9-10

5.  Look to Christ who will comfort you in the midst of suffering.

“For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.” 2 Corinthians 1:5

Life is full of suffering and it is not always easy.  However, we can be thankful that we have a Christ who has suffered & been persecuted, will give us comfort, power, & victory, and at the end say “death, crying, and sorrow is no more” (Rev 21:4).


(Written by both James and Keri Witmyer)
Posted on 06/21/11 at 9:40pm