Forsaking All I Trust Him

Forsaking

All

I

Trust

Him

Oh, wow! You may be thinking who in their right mind would do that? Who would give up everything and trust God? I can think of many examples in the Bible of people who have done that and have found that the blessings that come from that kind of trust is amazing! I personally have experienced that kind of faith so I can testify to the fact that when you give it all to Christ, you won't regret it.

One of the examples of faith in the bible that really flows with this particular acronym of faith is the story of the fishermen by the seashore in the book of Matthew Chapter 4. Jesus commanded them: "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men." Can you imagine what must have been going through their minds? That was their only source of income and some stranger walks up to them and says, "Leave your job and come with me! I guarantee you that if you do, you'll win many over to my Kingdom!" What a leap of faith it took for these poor fishermen to leave their way of life and follow Jesus. What great and mighty things they did and saw as a result of their obedience. They got to witness firsthand the miraculous touch of the creator of the universe as he healed the sick, raised the dead, cast out evil spirits etc. They became part of his chosen 12!

Here are are a few facts about these fisherman:

1. They were poor men: if they had had estates, or any considerable stock in trade, fishing would have been their recreation not their occupation. It didn't matter to Jesus that they were poor, when He saw them he saw the potential they had to become great leaders for his Kingdom. He is no respecter of persons. He will choose to use and bless those who are willing to step out in faith! Rich or poor, all it takes is a willingness empty ourselves of self and become a vessel for God to flow through touching the lives of those around us.

2. They were unlearned men, not exposed to books or literature as Moses was. He had the opportunity in Egypt to be taught by the best. He lived in the kings palace! It didn't matter to God that these fishermen were uneducated. He knew that if they had faith, they would trust Him enough to give them the right words to say at the right time through the Holy Spirit. God isn't looking for those who want to impress others with their degree's or successes in life. He desires that no matter if we are uneducated or educated, that we will allow Him to speak through us.

3. They were men of business, who knew their trade inside out and wasn't afraid of hard labour. God isn't looking for lazy people to further his kingdom here on earth, he desires that we be motivated with a goal and a vision. Pressing toward the mark of the high calling of God. After all, we are his hands and feet in this world. It should be our mission to show Christ to everyone you meet.

4. They were men that were accustomed to hardships and hazards. Becoming a fisherman is one of the most laborious and perilous jobs around. Fishermen must be often wet and cold; they must watch, and wait, and toil. They were often in perilous waters constantly being exposed to danger and near death experiences. God is looking for those of us that have learned to bear hardships and be exposed to dangers that bring us courage as we trust in Him. It is those type of people that are prepared for the fellowship and discipleship of Jesus Christ. Good soldiers of Christ must endure hardness. What a lesson we can learn from this story when you begin to reflect on how much faith it took for them to follow Jesus that day.

Lately, I've been reading and studying a lot on faith in my own personal devotions. Hebrews chapter 11 is a great passage of scripture on faith. I quote it often when I want to encourage someone to increase their faith or to reach out in faith for the answers they desire from God. The first verse talks about how "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Verse 2 goes on to say "For by it the elders obtained a good report." You will notice as you read go on to read the rest of this chapter that a lot of victories came through great faith of many men and woman in the Bible.

The beauty of it is that it doesn't take much faith to move the hand of God. Just the size of a grain of mustard seed! A mustard seed is pretty tiny! I encourage you today to have faith in God! Go where he is leading you. It doesn't necessarily mean you'll be leaving your current job or the area you live like the fishermen in the Bible did. It does mean that your priorities will change as you begin to obey God, putting him first in your life as he leads you into his will. Take that step towards the place he is calling you. Beyond the open door awaits a work that only you can do and with it comes a new and fresh anointing on your life. Be encouraged and have faith. It will move those mountains that stand in your way!

Matthew 17:9

And Jesus said unto them, ...

"If ye have FAITH of a grain of mustard seed

Ye shall say unto this mountain,

Remove hence to yonder place,

And it shall remove and

NOTHING shall be

impossible unto you!"

Just a tiny grain.........

No matter what..... Have Faith!

Don't Let the Devil Steal Your Song

Wow! What a title! "Don't Let the Devil Steal Your Song!" I can't take credit for it though. I heard as a sermon title the first night at Music Camp this past summer. As soon as Bro. Jeff Saunders said it, I was overwhelmed and tears welled up in my eyes. Just those words alone were enough to encourage me and heal some of the hurt I had experienced recently. I begin to feel God speaking to my heart as Bro. Saunders begin to minister to the campers and staff. I knew his message was God-given and it was for me. The timing just couldn't be better and God touched me deeply that night. I determined that no matter what, I wasn't going to let the devil steal my song.

Just before camp started, I had gotten extremely hurt by someone very dear to me. I truly believe that this individual has no clue just how deeply they hurt me because I tried to brush it off and not give them any indication that it bothered me. I decided I was going to just give it to God and go on, not changing how I treated this person. I forgave them and left it in God's hands. However, I did vow that I would never sing again, something I had been doing my whole life. Isn't it just amazing how God works? He had plans for me and my music ministry, the enemy knew it and tried to discourage me so much so that it almost worked! For this to be the first sermon preached just after this happened, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt God wanted me to know that he had given me a song and I needed not to allow the enemy to steal it. All the scriptures spoken with Bro. Saunders sermon, the story he told about how the canary who had a beautiful voice and sang every day got sucked up in a vacuum cleaner. It wouldn't sing anymore but through love and care of it's owner it finally broke out into a song again. Everything he said, spoke volumes to my soul! I am so thankful that he was sensitive to what God wanted for that service. I thank God every day for Music Camp because I believe it was the launching pad to my singing ministry. I am still overwhelmed at all that has happened since then! To God be ALL the glory!

In the middle of the week of Music Camp one of our local gospel radio stations, CJRI sent a DJ up to record a promotion for the camp. This DJ requested that someone record a song, a piano solo, etc to showcase some of what we had learned. I was asked to record a song and I immediately said no! I was extremely hesitant and even though God had touched me greatly on Sunday night I felt I just needed more time before I sang again; let alone have it recorded. Truthfully, I was scared to 'put myself' out there. It's always been one of my dreams and goals to record a gospel CD and normally I would have jumped at the chance to record a song but after getting hurt like I did, I felt that I wasn't ready. Surely they could find a better singer than I to record a song for the promotion. God reprimanded me saying, "It's time to stop burying your talent in the sand, I want to turn your misery into a ministry!" With the persistence of the Music Director at camp and others I reluctantly recorded a Joel Hemphill song called, "Consider the Lilies" Camp went on with some great services and since I was staying there as Staff for the full month of July, I quickly forgot about the song I recorded.

In August, I found out that the station was still playing the song I recorded. Apparently, after the first time it played over the airwaves calls came pouring in to request it to be played over and over. I was shocked! I couldn't believe it! What was even more unbelievable to me, was the fact that it was the number one most requested song of a local artist for 14 weeks breaking a record at the station! It wasn't long before family and friends who live far away heard about this and they wanted to hear it. Again, I was reluctant to share it with anyone but they insisted so I made it into a video and posted it on Facebook. The comments and e-mails came pouring in non-stop to me.

There is one story I want to share here. It's about a lady who had walked away from God years ago, she heard my song when it was posted on facebook. While listening to it she could feel God's presence, it made her cry and she relized that God still cares for her. She made the decision to turn her life around and serve God after all those years of being away from him. She thanked me over and over for posting my song. I was so humbled and it made everything I had gone through so very worth it! To God be ALL the glory as to what he has done with that song. I often joke with people who thank me, telling me they were ministered to after hearing me sing that I just want to be a vessel for God's presence to flow through even though I am slightly cracked! In all seriousness though, it's ALL because of God and his anointing he has placed on my life.

I was even hesitant to blog about this because I don't want to appear to be promoting myself or bragging. I am just so excited about the blessings that God has poured in my life about it that I want to share it in hopes that it will encourage a reader who is struggling with what God wants them to do with their life. When God opens a door wide, hold your head high and walk through it. You won't regret it. Sure people will criticize and point fingers but if your heart is right and your doing it for the Lord; you will be able to forgive them and not allow it to ruin your relationship with them. I never dreamed that the song would even be played on the radio again! The purpose of it was only to promote the camp. Recently, it was voted as part of the Top 20 songs of the year 2010. In January, I was the recipient of an award for it placing #2 runner up song of the year in the Top 20 by popular vote of the listeners of CJRI Faithway Radio Network. To God be ALL the glory for that!

Unbelievable! To top it all off on new years day, I was given a free one year membership to the Maritime Gospel Music Association (MGMA) http://www.mgma.ca/ They promoted me as artist of the month for January! Again, I have to say, To God be ALL the glory! People are disappointed when they realize I haven't recorded a CD yet but that is in the works and will be released in God's time. I've already had a consult at a recording studio and are weighing all my options. I have been traveling around locally taking part in different gospel concerts throughout our area. To me, this is a ministry. I take it very seriously want to stay in tune with what God wants for me in this area of my life. I don't do it for awards or promotion and definitly not for entertainment. I do it for God! I truly believe there are lost and hurting people who need to be ministered to. Music is such a universal language that it can reach into the depths of a persons heart, soothing the emotional pain they are in. Everyone loves music of some genre but music that comes from God is the most powerful of all! I thank God everyday for all these blessings he's given me. I feel so undeserving of it all and I'm very humbled that He would even use me.

To everyone who has supported me and encouraged me so far through out this journey I am on, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I couldn't have done it without you. Your prayers and your sound advice have kept me grounded. To the staff and the listeners of the CJRI stationhttp://www.cjri.fm/ and to those who voted for me, I thank you! To the staff of MGMA and all the local artists, thank you for everything! I sure do appreciate the support and encouragement you've given me as a new artist. To my family and close friends, I love you more than anything. Thank you for being there for me through the laughter and tears! You guys are my rock and I appreciate you so very much! Don't stop praying for me! Above all, I want to thank God who is my Saviour, my Healer, my Redeemer, my Provider and Best Friend. All the praises, all the glory belong to Him! He is so good and as long as he is on my side, I don't need to worry about the devil stealing my song!

To God Alone be the Glory

To God Alone be the Praise
Everything I say and Do

Let it be All for you

The Glory is yours Alone

Yours Alone

~Aaron Shust

Psalm 13: 6

"I will sing unto the Lord because

He hath delt bountifully with me!