It Is Written....Tuesday

10/26/15

Yesterday our pastor was on travel in Africa, and we had our Youth pastor standing in to give our message. He did an amazing job. His message was called "It Is Written." I knew that Jesus had used  this phrase when He was teaching and guiding, but I never thought to much about it. It makes sense...He was quoting scripture. What can be better when we are in the middle of a discussion that has more than one opinion being set forth. Debating is a technique that illuminates the many sides of a topic that is bring discussed. It makes it possible to see the many sides that are often part of a topic.

Sometimes when debating an issue, it often turns out to be true that subjects are not black and white. There are many shades to the beliefs with regard to any topic. Now I am not referring to to the unchanging truths about God, things He has done, and the beliefs we cling to. I believe that there is only one truth about such topics, but  I am not saying a debate is inappropriate. I have to confess that just a few days ago I got into a discussion and became irate. I called the person that I was responding to so harshly and apologized. However debating such a topic is appropriate if it is done with love and respect. I had not planned to write this, but this old saying popped into my mind just now. "You will catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar." So true!

Sometimes our pastor will preach for more than a half hour and then say that all that was just the introduction. We all laugh and know that we have a series starting up. I am not going to write a series here but the above two paragraphs are just the set up for this writing. 

Back to yesterday's sermon. The topic was illustrated by Jesus in the desert early in His ministry. You will remember that satan came to test Him. Satan's hopes were to tempt Jesus successfully to worship him and turn away from His Father. First he asked Jesus to turn the rocks into bread since He had been fasting for 40 days. Jesus was hungry, but He would not do it. Then he asked Jesus to bow down and worship him...he got another negative from Jesus. Then he reminded Jesus that he would be protected by angels if He jumped off the high place, and suggested that He do it,.  Again Jesus rejected this temptation as well. Foiled again satan!

This is where it gets interesting, and gives us a model to follow when a debate we are in gets a bit difficult to deal with. Jesus did not argue with satan: He did not try to convince him that he was wrong: He had a much better weapon. It was a "feather knife" meaning that His weapon was a soft one, that satan could not argue with. Jesus quoted Scripture. (Now satan had done his homework so that he would know truths and know his enemy, Jesus. Satan also knew Scripture, and he knew Jesus.)

Still Jesus did not argue or cajole satan. He started his responses with  

"IT IS WRITTEN...

These verses are from the book of Matthew, Chapter 4. Before Jesus used Scripture to answer satan. The evil one also had a go with it. Jesus was not moved nor impressed. Here are His responses...

5 Jesus answered, It is written:

 "Man shall not live on bread alone, 

but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

 7 Jesus answered him, It is also written:

 "Do not put the Lord your God to the test."

10 Jesus said to him,
“Away from me, Satan! 

For it is written: 

‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only."

Those words, It is Written are perfect when one is involved in a debate that is becoming hot or argumentative. What better way to know that you are correct than to quote scripture. This would require you to have hidden The Word in  your heart or that you start on a journey of collecting certain Scripture verses that you can be sure God will give you the opportunity to use.

By 

Corinne Mustafa

It is written:
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, 
correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God 
may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
2 Timothy 3:16-17

Take Up Your Mat and Walk

Take Up Your Mat and Walk

“…”Get up! Pick up your mat and walk!” “

John 5:8b

Many times in my life, before I really knew the power of Christ in my life, I would pray (sort of) for the Lord to change the all of things that I saw as the obstacles to my happiness.

“If only she was nicer to me.” “If only he would just be honest and faithful to me.” “If they could just act right..!” –Then my life would be better. I would have more confidence. I would be successful. I would really be happy! As soon as those people changed, or just left my little part of the world, my whole life would be better.

But even when everything around me changed, I was still seeing the same problems. Or the problems that I had got worse. Why weren’t things better? I was a nice person, when I wanted to be. I worked hard, most of the time and was a pretty obedient daughter. Why did it always seem that everyone else’s lives were happier than mine? Well there were for the bad break-ups and divorces that left many of my friends as single parents. And there were also the sickness, death, job loss and other struggles that I saw around me. Still everybody else was Happy! Weren’t they?

Thankfully, as I learn more about myself through reading and studying God’s Word; I have come to realize that being happy isn’t the point, and like Dorothy in the” Wizard of Oz”, I had always held the key to how my life was lived. I could choose to participate in one of God’s greatest miracles. I could willingly ask Him to change me! And as I felt Him work in me, I began to feel a joy that was far more that I ever imagined.

As I read the many miracles that Christ performed during his time on this earth, there are three things that I saw happening.

1- Someone asked for help.
2- Jesus told them what to do.
3- They obeyed and experienced the miracle!

What are we doing when we ask for the Lord to help us? Do we pray and then sit and wait to see what He will do? Or are we keeping watch and listening for His instructions, so we can obey everything He is telling us to do?

I may never be the woman that I used to think I was supposed to be, but I can become a better woman than I am; as long as I remember that I have to be the one to, pick up my mat and walk!

Written by

Lynda Kinnard 

REFUGE AND STRENGTH... Sunday

Devotional for 10/25/15  (rewritten from 2014)

This weekend our church celebrates the Reformation, commemorating when Martin Luther, a Catholic monk, challenged the status quo in the church. He questioned some long term teachings that were entrenched in the life of the church at that time. It was something with which he had struggled for years. He was not the first to question those things, but he was the first to survive questioning them... others before him had been put to death. It took a lot of prayer and fortitude to stand on the firm foundation of faith in the Word of God over the familiar traditions.

There are times when we also need to make changes that are difficult. Even if we don't believe we are at risk of losing our lives, we resist change or cringe at the thought of rocking the boat. We get comfortable with the old patterns, whether they are healthy or not. Though we may see danger in remaining in the same rut and begin to think about moving in a different direction, we slip back into that old familiar deadly groove. Sometimes the banks of that road are so steep and high that we cannot see what is better beyond them. Sounds are blocked out by the earthen walls of that trench, so we can't hear the promise of something greater. Nor can we smell the flowering trees that will go begging to be harvested later. If only we could climb out of the furrow we've dug for ourselves in the old ways that falsely provide comfort and safety. Eventually we might even become buried alive there as the walls cave in.

The good news is that God is always just over the ridge, ready to pull us out of that rut if we let him. Even if the oceans rise, flooding the road and eroding the earth from under our feet, God will provide a way out for us. Though we may repeatedly try to stand back up on our own only to fall again, we can turn to God for forgiveness and for the power to move forward in his direction. We can stand firm on his foundation. He is our refuge and strength at all times!

Psalm 46:1-3 (NIV) "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging." 

Dear Father in heaven, you are our refuge and strength in every moment of every day, even when it feels as if our entire world is crashing down upon us. You will triumph over every evil.  Help us to remain faithful in all circumstances.  Forgive us when we slip up, and set us back on track when needed.  Thank you for that free gift of salvation given us through faith in your son, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray.  Amen

written by Jan Andersen 

               

MY SALVATION...Saturday

  10/24/15

"Surely God 

is my salvation; 

I will trust 

and not be afraid.  

The Lord, the Lord, 

is my strength

 and my song; 

he has become my salvation."

Isaiah 12:2

    

      What a wonderful Bible passage!  There are few things we can count on in life.  There are many things today which can cause us to be fearful -- the world situation, the job market, the fluctuating financial situation throughout the whole world.  Then there is what is happening on the personal level -- health concerns, family conflicts, and many other things.

     We certainly cannot trust the promises of the people who govern our country and rule our courts.  So whom can we trust?  God!

     Believers rest in the almighty arms of God.  He has created us, redeemed us through the blood of His Son, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit fills us with the wisdom needed to walk in this world.  This truly is something to sing about!  Our salvation is sure.

Written by 

Carol Steficek

Failure Can't Keep Us From Him...Friday

10/23/15

Isn't it incredible how one day we can be so on fire, so in love with the Lord, that we can almost see ourselves soaring in His Spirit, and we have the faith to see far into eternity? However, the next day we go splat? When this happened to me, I would get so depressed. I would look around at the world; I'd look around my home; I would try to search my heart. Everywhere I looked I would only find loneliness, darkness and an emptiness I could not explain. There were times I spent days, even months in this pit. I even mastered putting on the "happy face." There was no way I wanted others to see me as I saw myself. They just could not see the failure I saw! I would ask myself, what is wrong with me? I just knew that this only happened to me! This is what I knew.

In Mark 9:2, Jesus reveals Himself to Peter, James and John. At first they see His awesome glory when He shows Himself to them as they have never seen. He is transfigured into something different than they had ever seen Him. It had to be beautiful and completely amazing to them. I can picture them falling to their knees, their mouths wide open with sort of a dumb struck look of astonishment. What a wonder that had to be for them! They were totally on fire for Christ!

A short time later, Jesus reveals himself in yet another way to the disciples. He showed them how deeply distressed and troubled He was. After this, the disciples all hit rock bottom. Their spiritual flames had sizzled out; their spiritual get-up-and-go had got up and left!

What I know now...

We often rise to some new level of spirituality and commit ourselves to a fresh allegiance with our Savior. Then we are bewildered at the depths to which we fall almost the next day. We cannot allow satan to lead us into darkness. We must do whatever it takes to keep our spiritual flame burning! But we also must know, we are not the only ones who fall into these pits. When we do, we just have to look for His hand stretched out, waiting to pull us out of it!!

Therefore we do not lose heart. 

Though outwardly we are wasting away,yet inwardly we are

 being renewed day by day. 
  For our light and momentary troubles                            

are achieving for us
an eternal glory that
far outweighs them all.

So we fix our eyes

not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.

For what is seen is temporary,
               but what is unseen is eternal.

                                                                     
                                                                                    2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Written by 

Terri Baker

    

Remember the Days of Small Things...Thursday

10/22/15 ›

Today will be the first Thursday that we will be sharing the writings of Brother Thomas Ukwute from Nigeria. His writings are very insightful and interesting. He posts his thoughts and ideas on Facebook. They are written in English, but this is a second language for Brother Thomas. His writings will be edited by Jody Ward to make his perceptive conclusions more understandable  to the speakers of American English. We hope you will enjoy reading Brother Thomas' thoughts on scriptures and beliefs.
                                                                                                                         Corinne Mustafa

_________________________________________________________________

“The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house and his hands will also be the ones to finish and complete it. When this happens, then you will recognize and understand that the Lord of Heaven sent me as His messenger to you,” said Zechariah.

“Who despises the day of small things? Who is disappointed because so little progress is being made? Does anyone dare despise this day of inconspicuous beginnings?

But they will be glad when they see Zerubbabel, carrying a plumb line and continuing to build the house. They will rejoice when they see the capstone in his hand.

They are the eyes of the Lord which run to and fro throughout the whole earth.”

Zechariah 4:9-10

Growth is dynamic and takes you from one level of experience to another, from one level of knowledge to another.

But always remember, no matter how big your exploits, do not forget the days of small things. Those days of small beginnings were the days of building the foundation on which your life and future would stand.

It was the time of acquiring needed experience from the various encounters in the dark valley that you went through in the process of growth. Your commitment level then was authentic and your hearts were opened to rebuke and correction. Those valleys, and your response, helped mold your spiritual character and your value systems. That is what has made you who you are today.

Not recalling those days of small things would mean throwing away the key to your value system. Many people who have forgotten the days of their small beginning have lost those very qualities that endeared them to the people around them.

If you draw a line from the day you met Christ to where you are today, how straight will the line be? How straight is your course in terms of your commitment, the level of the fear of God in you and your knowledge of the Lord and His word? Can you say for sure that you are remembering your small beginnings and holding onto those value systems make you different from the ordinary men on the street? Do you retain the lessons of life’s dark valleys that now give you access to the platform you stand on today?

Zechariah said, “ the hand of Zerubbabel had laid the foundation and his hand will finish it.” Those words are so strategic in maintaining the work of the builder and the quality of the materials for the building. Consistent personal growth and consistent effort building the house are needed to be able to pass on to the next generation a church, and a model, that will carry on the preaching of the Gospel without diluting the message.

May the Lord help us to stay on course, no matter what the cost. 

Written by 

Brother Thomas Ukwute

Edited by

Jody Ward

"Iron Sharpens Iron"...Wednesday

10/21/15

 

I love hanging out with God's people on a regular basis. Especially my brothers and sister's in the Lord  that are in the Word often. As I hear them share what God is showing them in the Word it strengthens  and refreshes me. Not only that, but it gives me an even greater desire to draw closer to the Lord.

 

God's Word  says in Proverbs 27:17 

"As iron sharpens iron, 

So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend." 

 

That  is exactly what happens as we gather in fellowship  with other believers. As His Word is spoken and declared, God's Spirit rises up within us as we are open to receive. His Word sheds truth in our hearts and we are challenged  to go deeper in our relationship with Him. Our hearts are stirred up and spurred on!

 

That is why it is so important to not forsake meeting with the brethren. We need each other to stay strong in the Lord and to encourage one another. We can pray for each other and speak life and light to our brothers and sisters.

 

I am so very thankful for my friends in Christ. I can be there for them and they as well for me. We can lock arms and stand strong in the Lord and in His mighty power!!

 

In His Word, 

Sandy Billingham