Every human wants to live a fruitful life.  We all desire to do something worthwhile, something that blesses people.  We need to feel significant.

But life on earth occasionally brings seasons of barrenness.  Those times of fruitlessness confuse us, hurt us, and test us.  Nevertheless, you cannot escape all seasons of barrenness.

Accept barren seasons as normal cycles of life.  God designed humans to be fruitful in season.  Fruitful seasons bring joy, but cannot last forever.

Why can’t we constantly enjoy the thrill of bearing fruit?  Is it too much to expect uninterrupted high-intensity fruit bearing?

Yes, it’s too much to ask.  Endless fruitfulness sometimes endangers our relationship to God.  We become so engrossed with productivity that we forget the God who alone makes us fruitful.  Temporary barrenness allows us to refocus our attention on God’s person.  We recall that serving Him is primarily all about loving Him.  Then we don’t become discouraged by barrenness.

Fruitfulness springs from union with Jesus, the Creator of all things.  So, in order to increase our fruitfulness.  He uses seasons of barrenness to deepen His fellowship with us.  Deepened fellowship brings incredible fruitfulness.  Friends, don’t be discouraged during barren seasons.  Recall Jesus’ promise to those who set their hearts upon loving him.  “If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit.”

Scriptures referred to: Psalm 1:3 and John 15:5

     After becoming legally blind and losing my driver’s license at age 29 I made lots of changes in my lifestyle.  Obviously, I could no longer drive so my wonderful wife plus friends at the church became my chauffeurs.  Nobody complained, no one criticized my inability.  In fact, after I gave up my driver’s license I imagined the Board asking me to resign because, after all, who needs a pastor who can’t drive a car.  Well, at the first board meeting after the Department of Public Safety refused to renew my license, the Board told me not to worry about it because they would help me with transportation.

     In spite of everyone’s generous help I had to deal with my own inner attitudes.  As long as I saw myself impaired I was downhearted and very self-critical.  God mercifully continued blessing my ministry—the church grew numerically, spiritually and financially.  Things were going alright until I faced another hurdle with my health.  Four years after losing my driver’s license I watched a Dallas Cowboys Monday night football game.  The strain on the focusing muscles on my eyes was becoming greater and greater, but not until after watching that game did I realize I had to make another lifestyle change.  It took me the rest of the week for my eyes to not feel tired.  I decided that either had to quite watching television or I wouldn’t be able to do anything in life.  I realized the importance of controlling my circumstances and activity so circumstances and activity would not add to my impairment. 

     Whether our impairments is psychological, financial, professional, relational or physical we must not add power to their ability to hinder us.  I could have become more discouraged or even angry about the weakness of the focusing muscles.  The pain could have completely debilitated me.  Instead I decided that God uses impairments in favor of those who see them as assets rather than liabilities.

     So, at age 33, I decided my work for the Lord Jesus and my relationship with him demanded that I discontinue watching any television in order to preserve my physical strength for the Lord’s work and seeking him in private communion.  Truly, looking back over the years since then, I realize that God didn’t heal my impairment because he planned better things for me.  Two years later I could no longer use my eyes reading even giant print.  It was no problem to discontinue using my eyes and move to electronic recordings of the Bible.  Then I learned about the Texas State Library for the Blind which has recorded thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of books for the visually impaired.  My wife began reading Scriptures for me during my teaching or preaching.  Things went great!  Professionally Dee and I flourished.  More importantly our walk with God became ever more intimate and exhilarating.  Then we did what people considered impossible: we became missionaries in Asia, returned to America and started a church with zero people and zero assets.  In 1997 we established a non-profit religious organization called Comfort and Encouragement Ministries.

     My point is to ask you to be encouraged.  You can’t do everything you want to do so change your goals.  Refuse to stand still in life, but also refuse to try things exasperate your pain or endanger your life.  Instead of forcing myself to focus on television or print I just quite things that wore me out and caused me to hurt.  There are great ways of getting around impairments that don’t force you just to sit down and do nothing.

     Remember, impairments are not liabilities, they are assets.  You can carry out your responsibilities and enjoy a meaningful life even though you have to do things differently than most people do them.  You are a winner because the Jesus who lives in you is undefeatable!

Dear Friends,

 

     Here’s an excerpt from another book I am in the process of completing.  This short story of a real life event shows God’s mercy to James Fields.  I was doing lots of Christian work as a young pastor, but I was not fulfilling God’s purpose for my life.  Busyness does not equate to God’s pleasure.  God’s pleasure is being with us as we minister to him in praise, worship and thanksgiving.  I trust this brief account of God interrupting my day inspires you to make appointments with him.

 

     Be greatly encouraged,

 

    Pastor James Fields 

James and Delores Fields

     A beautiful, late afternoon South Texas sky provided a wonderful cathedral for my brisk exercise walk.  The mild temperature, the singing birds and being alone in wide open spaces made it easy to increase my pace.  After a very full work day, being alone in the fields near my house sure felt good.  But I wasn’t alone.

     As I enjoyed the solitude of the country road near our house, the Lord’s voice spoke deep within my spirit, “You’re not praying.”

     I stopped.  After looking around to find the origin of this voice, I concluded that God’s Spirit had spoken to me.  I was no stranger to the Holy Spirit.  For twelve or thirteen years I had lived for the Lord Jesus, earned a Bachelor’s degree from a Christian university and pastored for seven or eight years.  So I recognized the Lord’s voice, but I did not like what he said.

     I stood motionless trying to comprehend this unexpected encounter with the Holy Spirit.  I began listing my arguments against God’s observation regarding my lack of prayer.

     “I pray while I’m driving my car, when I’m mowing my lawn and well, doing other things,” I reasoned.  But God had nailed me.  He meant I wasn’t spending any special time in his presence.  Appointments filled my day from early morning to late evening, but I never made an appointment to be alone with him.

     God’s message ended my exercise program for that day.  I strolled home trying to decide how to respond to the Lord’s words that changed the direction of my life.  The Spirit of the resurrected Jesus did me a favor that afternoon.  He took me off the prayerless pathway I was walking and started bringing me into a life of communion with him.  Jesus rescued me from an exceedingly narrow definition of prayer.  He intended to gradually bring me into the intimate fellowship of his Spirit.

     Appointments with God never happen accidentally.  Jesus told us to “go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father who is unseen.” (Matthew 6:6)  This “prayer room” is set aside for a visit with God and a visit from God.  But this prayer room is not merely a place for making endless petitions of the Creator of all things.  The prayer room serves as a communion chamber in which a human spirit and God’s Spirit interact.  The communion chamber allows God to pour his life into us as we share ourselves with him.

4.    Make appointments with Jesus.

We make appointments for everything in life: paying bills, attending children’s sports, going to work, school or church, mealtimes and vacations.

Regrettably, when I was a very young pastor I let busyness in doing good things for people squeeze private time with Jesus out of my schedule.  Fortunately, the Lord reprimanded me and set me on a new path of life.

I started making appointments to spend private time with Jesus in what is normally called prayer, but which I call communion.  If Jesus is number one with us we must make time in our schedule for being with him.  Worship, praise, thanksgiving, adoration, magnification of Jesus heightens our love for him as his presence visits us.  Think about it for a moment.  What’s the best time of your day that you can set aside five minutes, ten minutes, twenty minutes to be with Jesus in private communion and fellowship?  Choose that time and make that time the most important appointment of your day.

Thank goodness that ever since I received Jesus at age 17 regular reading of the Bible became part of my life.  We must read his Word consistently, so be disciplined enough to set aside some time for reading the Word of God, the wonderful Scriptures!

5.    Be sensitive to his reprimands and your conscience.

“My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.” (Proverbs 3:11-12)

Love for Jesus makes us sensitive and appreciative of the reprimands that come from his Spirit, his people and his Word.  How many times the Lord has used his Word to convict me of entertaining evil desires that are forbidden  by his Word.  Not only that, but he always accompanies his reprimands with the power to conquer our evil desires or unchristlike feelings.  As we admit our guilt he floods us with a brand new love for Jesus that’s better than anything we’ve known before!

God planted a conscience in us.  This conscience is like the table of stone that God wrote the ten commandments on.  These commandments are a part of every human’s nature.  We instinctively know that idol worship, sexual immorality, theft, dishonoring parents and so forth are wrong.  As we yield to the conscience that convicts us of wrongdoing, admit our wrongdoing and ask God’s forgiveness, we retain a clear conscience.  If we violate our conscience, then it becomes hardened against the Lord and his will and our love for Jesus shrinks.

Love for Jesus adds unbelievable and immeasurable joy to life.   Therefore, we appreciate a Father in heaven who loves us enough to reprimand us and install a conscience in us designed to help us please him.  In fact, 2 Corinthians 5:9 contains a phrase that I memorized so it could serve as motivation for loving the Lord:  “We make it our goal to please him.”

6.    Fellowship with people who love Jesus.

Scripture points out that each person who loves Jesus belongs to Jesus’ earthly body.  The Body of Christ is composed of everyone who recognizes him as their master and loves him supremely.

“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.” (1 Corinthians 12:12)

“Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.” (1 Corinthians 12:14)

“But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.” (1 Corinthians 12:18)

“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:27)

Amputated members of our bodies cannot survive.  Therefore, we recognize that fellowshipping with people who love Jesus isn’t a luxury, but an essential to maintaining our love for the Lord.  We need each other!

Be greatly encouraged,

Pastor James Fields

Here are the first three of six steps to keeping the first and greatest commandment.  On December 13th we will share the final three steps.

1.    Know the first and greatest commandment.

 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?”

“Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.” (Matthew 22:36-38)

Memorizing the first and greatest commandment keeps us focused on loving Jesus supremely.  Obeying him becomes absolute fun and seeking him becomes our top priority.  As a result, we experience the abundantly rich life he planned for us.

2.    Hate everything that hinders love for Jesus.

“Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.  And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (Hebrews 12:1)

People who fail at loving Jesus always ask themselves the question, “How would this or that hurt?”  “I can be a Christian and do this.”

People who succeed at loving Jesus hate anything and everything that hinders their love for him.  They use this question to direct their lives: “How will this help me love Jesus more?”

3.    Shun social life that impedes love for Jesus.

We live and work among people who have never met Jesus.  That’s fine.  God put us here to be a witness of Jesus to those who don’t know and therefore don’t love him.  But throughout Scripture we are told that we must be selective in our  social life.  We can’t choose who we work with, but we can choose and must choose who we fellowship with on a casual basis.  One of the many, many verses that direct us to choose casual social companions that stimulate our love for Jesus is 2 Corinthians 6:17: “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”

Loving Jesus wholeheartedly motivates us to surround ourselves with others who love him.  Then people whose hearts love the Lord Jesus bless us and we bless them.

Be greatly encouraged,

Pastor James Fields

February 1989

In about 1974 or 75 the Lord helped me schedule private time with him into my very busy days.  I disciplined myself to place private time with him as top priority in my daily calendar.

After a few years of this regimented fellowship with the Lord I recognized that lots of up building and encouraging thoughts came to mind.  Regrettably, these thoughts disappeared after a few seconds or a few minutes.  So in August 1980 I began writing these Thoughts During Prayer in a notebook.  I’m so glad I did because since then the Lord has shared so very, very many insights into his person, his ways, and his purposes.

These thoughts come to mind randomly as I worship, praise, magnify and glorify Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Consequently, the recording of these thoughts isn’t sequential.  I simply write them as they come.

Please let me share with you some of these thoughts during prayer.  I trust they will encourage you and help you along the path of life.

Be greatly blessed,

James Fields

Jesus leads us in ways that allow us to cleanse and purify our hearts.

The Lord draws us into ways that benefit our growth–spiritually, intellectually and emotionally.

April 1993

“Thank you Jesus, for generating divine unsurpassable hope within our hearts!”

God commits His infinite person and inexhaustible resources to helping us to recover from our failures.

We know that God is very pleased when we choose to just keep going.

September 2007

God can change anything about everything.

We want the heavenly realm guiding us through this early life.

The eternally responsible God will take good care of us.

March 2008

God goes ahead of us making arrangements for our service in his temple and to his people.

“O Lord, we request that you work Jesus’ nature into our whole spirits, souls and bodies so you can rejoice in our actions as well as in our presence.

Since we want to always do those things that please God we give ourselves to following the Holy Spirit’s promptings.

If you are interested in signing up to receive our weekly email that includes these Thoughts During Prayer click here.  While at our website check out the other internet ministries we offer, plus books written by Pastor James Fields and over 100 CD sermons.

For the last several months I’ve occassionally listed what impairments have taught me.  Please let me add a few more insights.

Yes, I believe in divine healing.  The Jesus who healed illnesses, injuries and diseases during his days on earth continues his healing ministry today.  However, when the Lord chose not to heal my legal blindness and the macular degeneration with which I live, I learned to profit from lack of healing.  If God miraculously heals us or not, we win, either way.  “The Lord…takes hold of your right hand and says to you, ‘Do not fear; I  will help you,’” Isaiah 41:13.

1. When you can’t be what you want to be, be willing to enjoy what you are.
2. Our attitude determines what our impairments do to us.
3. Regard disabilities as channels that lead into new abilities.
4. Living within our physical limitations contributes to and does not detract from God’s will for us.
5. When you have to give up what you cannot do, move on to what you can do.

Be greatly encouraged!!

Dear Friends,

Let me share with you an edited email I recently sent.  Perhaps it will be a strength for you.

 Please read Genesis 37, then chapters 39-50.  Joseph’s story helped me so very, very much during the trials I went through during the early 1990’s.

I practiced lots of ruthless introspection, self-criticism and self-depreciation.  Trials and tests will do that to us if we allow it.  So one evening in Japan during early 1991, I was convinced I had never done one good thing in my whole life.  I figured all my trials and sufferings were due to my own faults and frailties.  About that time the Lord clearly spoke to me, “I am Controller of Circumstances and Director of Decisions.”  Well, I thought about that statement and coupled it with Joseph’s story.  When he was 17 years old he told his brothers he was going to rule them.  That’s not exactly smart to tell your ten older brothers you are going to be over them.  His youthful immaturity caused his brothers to hate him and sell him into Egyptian slavery.  Actually, his brother’s behavior served God’s purposes, the God who controls our circumstances.  Then, Joseph made a mistake.  He knew his master’s wife had eyes for him.  In spite of that, he inadvertently went alone into his master’s home to carry on his work.  Consequently, his master’s wife accused Joseph of attacking her.  This got him thrown into prison.  Nevertheless, the Director of Decisions and Controller of Circumstances used this incident to achieve divine purposes.

When you can’t find anything but fault with yourself, stop it.  Look to the Director of Decisions and the Controller of Circumstances.  Reject all ruthless introspection.  We are not saying we are perfect.  We are saying our God is flawless.  He is the one that counts!

 Be greatly encouraged,

 Pastor James and Delores

     At the end of my junior year in high school the Lord helped me surrender myself to his lordship.  He began leading my steps and building my love for him.  About 2 ½ months later I experienced what John the Baptist and Jesus called the Baptism into the Holy Spirit.  This new and powerful relationship with the Holy Spirit created in my heart an insatiable desire for the Word of God.  When the Pastor of our family’s church recognized my new interest in the Bible he personally taught me how to memorize Scripture.  His instruction launched me on a life long program of not only reading the Bible, but memorizing portions of it.

     In this Blog I want to share with you the five verses I most recently began memorizing.  I trust these portions of God’s Word bless you a lot!

• “I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so they will never turn away from me,” Jeremiah 32:40.
• “This is what the Lord says…I will give them all the prosperity I have promised them,” Jeremiah 32:42.
• “We make it our goal to please him,” 2 Corinthians 5:9.
• “Accept instruction from his mouth and lay up his words in your heart,” Job 22:22.
• “The Almighty will be your gold, the choicest silver for you,” Job 22:25.

     Click here to go to our Products that Bless page of our website.  We have several pamphlets covering different topics as well as books and CD messages. May this website inspire you with fresh faith in God’s commitment to making you successful. “‘Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken, nor my covenant of peace be removed,’ says the Lord,” Isaiah 54:10.

Being legally blind because of totally blind spots could have proven an insurmountable barrier to happiness.  In fact, there were times during my 20′s that I felt quite resentful for the way I perceived God had treated me.  He mercifully changed my attitude and I started looking for lessons for life contained within the physical impairment I was born with.  Hopefully some of these lessons will help you deal with the more unpleasant side of life.

1. Our weaknesses in one area of life can strengthen other areas of life.
2. Instead of regretting what we cannot do, we rejoice in what we can do.
3. Enjoy what you can do; don’t grieve over what you can’t do.
4. If you have a physical impairment you cannot afford a psychological one.  Therefore, keep reminding yourself of Proverbs 16:4: “The Lord works out everything for his own ends.”

The aging process can be regarded as an impairment.  However, we can also regard the aging process as merely another exciting stage of life.  All these lessons I just mentioned help us take advantage of the later stages of life.  Sure, we can’t do everything we use to, but we can do lots of things that youthfulness never dreamed of accomplishing.  “I can do everything through him who gives me strength,” Philippians 4:13.