You Grace is Sufficient

2 Corinthians 12:6-10, “For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me. And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

There are many thoughts about what this thorn in the Apostles Paul’s side was, if it was a physical problem or may have been a spiritual one but the Lord clearly tells him that his prayer for it to go away would not happen but to rely on God;s grace in dealing with it.

Today I’m going to attempt to answer one of the “why” questions.

There are biblical reasons for our prayers seemingly being not answered and the main reason is because we have sin in our lives. Isa 59:2, “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”

It maybe be for a selfish reason, James 4:3, “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”

Lack of faith is another, James 1:6-8 , “but let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”

Other reasons are that you didn’t ask or its not God’s timing and so on.

First thing we need to understand is that God is not the cause of suffering in this world. Ultimately, it’s man that brought sin and death upon all mankind.

Who brought the thorn in Paul’s side? Yep, Satan

I’m not positive who the author of the book of Job is but who is the one who brought death to Job’s family? Who caused illness to Job?

When God spoke to Job, did He ever explain why these things happened to Job?

Isaiah 55:6-12 tells us that God is sovereign!

Now, if you’re not Born Again of the water and Spirit, God has no obligation to hear your prayer, Matthew 7:21-23, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

But paise God he can and will answer prayers of those not in the “Born Again” group as many of us would not be here if Jesus hadn’t answered our pray in those dark days of our lives. Matthew 15:21-28, “Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour”

John 9:39, “And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.”

God does not cause sickness, Matthew 17:14-18, “And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.”

God is not the source of death, Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

John 10:10, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

So, we can easily see why there is sickness and death in this world but that doesn’t answer why it seems God does not answer our prayers, I mean we ask, we believe, we repent of our sins, we forgive others, so why?

It really goes to our feeble thoughts of who God is and how merciful He is!

1Timothy 1:12-16, “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.”

We live in a corrupt fallen world, where every evil imaginable is possible, where sickness, murder, death is rampant, where a child in what should be the safest place you could imagine is in danger. Where governments that were established to protect your freedoms are taking them away and looking for complete control every facet of your life. Where Jesus Christ and His followers have become a threat to this control and are labeled as bigots and racist.

In a way God has answered the prayers of this world and that prayer is for God to leave us alone! Let us decide for ourselves what is right and wrong.

But I also contend that Jesus does hear the prayers of His children Psalms 66:19-20, “But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.”

This my not answer in its entirety the “Why” question since in this life we may not get that answer but God does hear and sometimes we don’t like the answer. Never lose that trust and get caught up in the lie of the devil that God just doesn’t care for He does!

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The Promise

Promises made, promises kept used to be the saying, not so much anymore!

A promise is an assurance similar to a vow or a pledge where one will do, give, or arrange something, undertake, or declare that an event will happen. A promise is sacred and verbal commitment that isn’t to be broken.

We all of unfortunately been the victim of a broken promise and try as we may, have been guilty of breaking a promise sadly. It used to be that “your word is your bond”.

There is someone who will always keep His promise, Titus 1:1-2, “Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;”

Let’s look at the greatest promise ever made in the History of mankind that came about by a major mess up at the very beginning of mankind.

The man Adam was created with the best of everything with only one instruction to not do something which was to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 3:1-3, “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.”

There were several consequence of this disobedience to God and first was to the serpent, “And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:”

With that comes the first promise from God of a redeemer one day, Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”

Throughout the entire Old Testament, we have the hope that this Messiah would be appearing soon. But for 4000 years as man waited even though having many miracles are recorded this miracle was not fulfilled.

It has been said that we have over 300 prophecies about that birth, life, and death of the Messiah and the book of Isaiah is the clearest about what to look for about the promise.

A virgin; Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

The Name; Isaiah 9:6-7, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”

His lineage; Jeremiah 23:5-6, “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

A forerunner; Isaiah 40:3-4, “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:”

The promises of the place of the birth of Jesus is also mentioned in Micah 5:2, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”

So when were these promises fulfilled?

Mark 1:1-4, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.”

Luke 1:26-33, “And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”

Luke 2:1-7, “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

So, with all these promises and more how could the nation of Israel miss the coming of the Lord?

The promises of God didn’t end with the birth of the Messiah, for each of us are given a promise if we are willing to accept it, Acts 2:38-39, “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”

Our lord also promises in no matter what situation you are in that you will never be alone, Hebrews 13:5, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

We also have the promise that Jesus is going to come back for us, John 14:1-3, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

This place is going to be the most wonderful place and beyond our imaginations, Revelations 21:4, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

Jesus Christ is and will always be the GREATEST PROMISE

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Without the Shedding of Blood!

Hebrews 9:22, “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”

The first instance of something shedding its blood in the word of God was whatever animal that was killed to cover Adam and Eve after the fall. Genesis 3:21, “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.”

The 1^st time we have the blood of man mentioned is when Cain slew Abel, Genesis 4:10, “And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.”

God had designs of when blood should be shed, Leviticus 17:11, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”

Atonement, to cover, thank the Lord, for when Adam sinned, we all came under the curse not just of this world but a death, both physical as well as spiritual, Genesis 2:15-17, “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”

This was not a blood to be taken eternally, Lev 17:10 And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people.

Drinking of the blood of animals and others was thought to cure disease and offer one longer life, Pope Innocent VIII was dying in 1492 and was allegedly given the blood of three boys in hopes of channeling some of their youthful energy. Many religions (cults) use blood of animals and people in their evil ceremonies.

Bloodletting was also thought to give relief to individuals such as bleeding the veins between the eyebrows to alleviates headaches, or under the tongue for chest pains or tonsillar abscess, or cutting the saphenous vein to ease menstrual problems.

In 1666 we have the 1^st mention of a scientific report on transfusions which wasn’t very successful as they would use animals to humans, or just anybody. It wasn’t until 1900 when the discovery of blood types that blood transfusions started to become more successful and thus acceptable.

So, the Bible was true over 4000 years ago when it mentions that the. “life of the flesh is in the blood”

Animal blood was used in covering of sin for the Jewish faith for thousands of years before it was abolished by the Roman emperor Titus destroyed the temple in 70AD. Because of the various celebrations or feasts that Israel was required to have it is said that a minimum of 1367 animals were sacrificed each year, and when Solomon dedicated the temple an estimated 250,000 animals were sacrificed that day.

Hebrews 9:1-7, “Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary. And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly. Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:”

This blood however lacked one thing, Hebrew 10:4, “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.” Acts 2:38, “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

So, are we still in our sins since the sacrifice of animals for our sins isn’t happening? We have been given a much better sacrificial animal, a Lamb!

John 1:29, “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” 1Peter 1:18-19, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:”

Hebrews 9:11-14, “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

Jesus sacrifice only needed to be done once to satisfy the blood requirement! Aren’t you thankful for the blood?

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Meditate On The Word

Psalms 1:1-2, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”

Meditation, what do you think of when someone says that word? Sitting in front of a buddha statue with burning incense?

Mediation just like prayer is not an exclusive to the Christian faith but you will find it many different circles and it seems to has become more popular in our crazy world. The world looks toward meditation as meant to relax or calm the mind, breathe control is a large part of it so you can free yourself of your external surroundings to learn to access the wealth of qualities that already exists within us such as goodness and compassion.

This is not what God’s word says about meditation in our life as a Christian!

There is a purpose far above looking into our inward depths to find meaning in our lives, Psalms 119:97. “O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.” Joshua 1:8, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”

Interesting that its not something that you designate a time to do it, but its both night as well as day, just like prayer 1Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing.”

Meditation is more than just reading the word of God; reading is primarily the assimilation of facts without application. Mediation is using those facts to transform your life, Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Reading is good but meditation or studying is better!

The word of God also is specific on what you should meditate on, Psalms 119:15, “I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.”

It takes effort to meditate, Psalms 119:99-100, “I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.” 1Timothy 4:11-15, “These things command and teach. Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.”

As well as many benefits, Psalms 119:101-105, “I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word. I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me. How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psalms 104.:34, “My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD” Psalms 1:3, “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”

Music can play a huge roll in getting God’s word down into your inner being if you meditate (think) on what’s being said in the song as many songs have scripture interwoven in them. You can just sing the words with little emotion or feeling, or you can meditate on the words and allow yourself to connect to Jesus through them.

Philippians 4:6-9, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.”

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What is Your Gift?

By Pastor Jeff,

This is the greatest gift you can give Jesus not just today but everyday of your life.

Matthew 2:1-11, “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.”

Now I want to point out a couple of traditions that have been added to the Christmas story that the bible doesn’t speak on, one was that there were only three wise men, we see that three gifts were given but scripture doesn’t say it was by just three wise men, there could of been hundreds for all we know. The other is that the wise men came the night that Jesus was born, in fact when the wise men did have their encounter the scripture tells us he was a young child and based on Herod sending his soldiers to kill all the male children two and under, Jesus could of been that age when the wise men did appear before the child Jesus.

With that we will look at the three gifts that the Wise men brought, Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh. The gold had a great monetary value and had to help during the upbringing of Jesus as Joseph, Mary, and family had to move more than once until they settled in Nazareth. Frankincense was a resin from the shrubs that grew in the mountain ranges that border Dhofar, Myrrh was also a resin from the Horn of Africa. These were very valuable and may even been more costly than the gold as frankincense was used by Kings and myrrh was used for funeral rites because of its strong aromatic scent. Some speculate that these three items would value in the millions of dollars but of course it that can’t be confirmed.

These valuable gifts were important in the life of Jesus but the question I have for you, is what gift do you bring to Jesus? Some may say our offerings of money, or a vow to pray, read your bible more, and so on it what our gift is, but I tell you that is not what Jesus wants. But you say I have nothing else to give, you say surely wouldn’t want this man of sin, Psalms 8:3-4, “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?” Indeed!

Thank God, that isn’t the way God sees us Psalms 139:14, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” Romans 5:8, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” I contend if you were the only person in this world that needed saving, Jesus would of still of come taken on the form of man, been rejected, suffered, died, buried, and Resurrected just for you. That’s the value Jesus puts on you, Jesus didn’t come for your bank account, your house, your cars, or any other material thing, He came for YOU! The best gift you could possibly give Jesus this Christmas and any other day is your Life, obey Acts 2:38 and become Born Again, don’t delay for we do not know that this may be the last Christmas we have before He returns.

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The Best Gift

James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

We are in the midst of Christmas season 2020 as kids all over the world are making out their Christmas lists. I remember when we were kids, we couldn’t wait for when the Sears and JCPenney’s catalogues would be delivered and we would go through them over and over again to mark the things we were hoping for.

I’m sure everyone reading this can remember that one special Christmas or if you were fortunate several Christmas’s that you got the gift that you had dreamed of. You can probably also remember some of the gifts you didn’t ask for as well.

That gift you would probably qualify as the “Best Gift” and you may even smile when you think of that gift or may have it even today.

Acts 20:35, “I have showed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.” I personally believe this is true when you have the opportunity to give to someone who could never repay you or if you can do it anonymously. But to be honest, I do like to be the recipient of gifts, and at Christmas we remember the “Best Gift” mankind has ever received.

John 4:10, “Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.” John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Because of this gift of God becoming flesh, dwelling among us, suffering, being crucified, His resurrection, and finally ascension we have another promise we receive. Acts 2:38-39,”Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:”

The gift of life that we have been blessed with is truly something to be grateful of, but eternal life that we get through faith in Christ is by far the, “Best Gift”! Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

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Is He The God or My God?

By Pastor Jeff,

John 20:24-28, “But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.”

In the U.S. we have approximately 330 million people with 244+ million of those over the age of eighteen. According to Pew Research 65% of Americans still consider themselves Christians that adds up to 158+ million Christians; so why is our nation so ungodly with abortion still the number one killer of children with 1700 every day, the rioting, looting, burning of cities, and cries for defunding the police in spite of rising crime around our country.

It’s an easy question to answer because one can call himself or herself whatever you want but it’s your relationship with Jesus Christ is what matters, Matthew 7:21-23, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

We find in the Old Testament that very few individuals had a relationship with God. He was the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, He was the God of Israel. Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David are some of the very few who had a close relationship with God. Unlike the New Testament in that each of has an opportunity to have an individual relationship with Jesus Christ. We now, can have the Lord of all things come into our hearts, John 14:18-20, “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”

He is not just the Lord God, He needs to become My Lord and My God in our lives, just ask this of yourself;

Is He the savior or is He My Savior? Is He the creator or His My Creator? Is He the provider or is He My Provider? Is He the healer or is He My Healer? Interesting how the change of one word can transform your attitude, your stance, and your relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Don’t just settle to be standing on the outside looking in by only recognizing that there is a Lord, that there is a God but never making Him the ruler of your heart and life. John 20:29, “Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”We are truly blessed to be able to just like Thomas to call out and declare that Jesus is My Lord and My God!

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Stand Up!

By Pastor Jeff,

The year 2020 has been one interesting year that I’m sure will be read about in history books in the decades to come. We’ve started out the year pretty good but soon the covid-19 virus took over our nation’s news at a pace never seen before. I don’t mean to minimize this virus as over two hundred thousand people have died with the virus contributing to their death which is horrible for all involved. I will not spend time on whether this virus has become way to political or if we have not taken it serious enough in this blog but maybe I will spend time sharing the science if the Lord leads.

We are also in the midst of a very controversial presidential election that has divided our country like no other time than probably the civil war we had over 150 years ago.

The caption I have shared from Alexander Hamilton, “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything” has been repeated by others such as Malcom X, Peter Marshall, and others. So as I pondered on this quote, I’m reminded of the scripture in Ezekiel 22:30, “And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.” The state of Israel during Ezekiel’s life was seemingly similar to our country in that they had abandoned God, it’s prophets were spewing lies, the leaders were corrupt, and it’s people only cared about themselves.

The reason I felt I needed to address this is that if we ever want to continue to have the freedom to worship our Lord Jesus Christ, speak freely, work and be able to improve your life we need not one, a couple, or most of the followers of Christ to stand up, we need all believers to do so! Ephesians 6:11-18, “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;”

Stand! stand for what? truth, before the present election, we had many who called themselves prophets, with much pride, prophesied that Donald J Trump would win the election. Now that the numbers that we now have are being contested favor the opponent some are recanting their prophecy. They either are false prophets who tried to get 5 minutes of fame or don’t have the guts to “Stand”. The word of God is not the center of many messages as motivational speakers (I can’t call them preachers) as they fulfill 2Timothy 4:3-4, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” Standing for the word of God? no thanks it may cause others to not like me or I may lose my paycheck. This puts a horrible stain on the church of the living God

How about standing for life, Ruth 4:13, “So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bare a son.” I was appalled recently when I heard that someone spoke with excitement that 80% of evangelical Christians voted for our present president who supports the pro-life message. That means 20% voted for the party of death, that’s unbelievable to me that so-called believers will not make a stand for life for any reason.

If you won’t now take the time to stand for God and our country, you will find yourself falling in line with this world that is literally running to the endtime agenda of a one world government and one world leader. Standing up will cost you but its what we must do or we will lose out as your family members, friends, neighbors will never hear about Christ so will be headed to a eternity without God!

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Are You a Doer?

be-a-doer

By Pastor Jeff,

Luke 2:41-49, “Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?”
From the birth of Jesus to this event we find very little written about the life of Jesus other than “And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him”. But here at the age of twelve He was letting everyone know that He knew what His purpose in life was to do His Fathers business!And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.”

Then again we have nothing written until the age of 30, Luke 3:21-23, “Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli”

I have no doubt that Jesus could of started His ministry at any time but we see in scripture that the age of thirty was pretty significant as evidenced that is when Joseph appeared before the Pharaoh (Gen. 41:46, the priest entered service (Num. 4:3), David became King (2 Sam. 5:4) and a few others. Now that does not mean that we who are called into the ministry or any other work for our Lord have to wait until thirty, I believe that we do need some maturing as Christians before we step out so that our enemy the devil does not use our own immaturity to destroy us.

With that, we need in our church doers not just hearers, James 1:22-23, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:” I have less and less patience for those who say they are going to do something but never follow through even though your intentions may be good. That’s not good enough, its especially troublesome when pastors, evangelist, leaders stand at the pulpit and proclaim that they are going to change, going to pray more, going to read the bible more, going to do this, going to do that, then never follow through.

Let’s read Matthew 21:28-32, “But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.” I’d rather have someone who never proclaims that he will do something and is known as a doer than hypocrites who love to stand bringing attention to themselves who never do nothing. Matthew 5:37, “But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.”

One of my favorite song writers, singers is Matthew West for many of his songs speak to my heart especially songs like, “Strong Enough, Do Something, Mended, Hello, my Name is…Broken Things” especially has meaning as you read these lyrics let them speak to your heart as well;

“If grace was a kingdom, I stopped at the gate, Thinking I don’t deserve to pass through after all the mistakes that I’ve made, Oh but I heard a whisper, As Heaven bent down, Said, “Child, don’t you know that the first will be last and the last get a crown”

Now I’m just a beggar in the presence of a King, I wish I could bring so much more
But if it’s true You use broken things, Then here I am Lord, I’m all Yours”

The pages of history they tell me it’s true, That it’s never the perfect; it’s always the ones with the scars that You use, It’s the rebels and the prodigals; it’s the humble and the weak
All the misfit heroes You chose, Tell me there’s hope for sinners like me.

Grace is a kingdom, With gates open wide, There’s a seat at the table just waiting for you
So, come on inside!

Amen, God is looking for doers, especially those with the heart that cries out to Jesus and proclaims that “here I am Lord, I’m all Yours.” If that’s you then Jesus has a job for you, You may have to wait a little but it will be worth it. It may not be standing before thousands declaring the words of the Lord, for I will confess before you that if I never stood in a pulpit but found myself in His perfect will, I would be better than OK with that. But God may have you talking to your neighbor, praying for the lost, visiting the sick, cleaning the church, the things that may never be seen but others. God see’s and He’s the reason we should be a doer anyways!

Picture care of: halchaffee.com

Walking Miracles

You-are-a-walking-miracle-1

By Pastor Jeff,

Psalms 139:14-18, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.”

The more I study biology especially when it comes to the unbelievable way man has been put together the more amazed I find that anyone can deny that we are not a miracle of God’s creation. Just think of the atom and how small it is and that we are made of 7 times 10 to the 27th power or 7 billion, billion, billion atoms. To think that that is an accident of evolution is just bizarre and completely at odds with the medical miracle we are. You are indeed a “Walking Miracle!”

Recently one of my favorite musicians Matthew West came out with the song, “Walking Miracles”, which is the inspiration to this blog. In the song he sang about the miracle of what we are as well as the healing power of God. So I want to center on that God is a healer which you would think would be a relatively simple subject that any pastor especially a Apostolic pastor would want to share. That hasn’t been true for me since my youngest daughter passed away due to cancer last year. Don’t get the idea that I lost hope or stopped believing in healing or in miracles but I must confess it’s been very difficult to proclaim that Jesus is your healer when I didn’t witness that in my child. I also have witnessed many in our church that have suffered under different types of afflictions that have not received their healing, which has had me shy away from coming our declaring, By His stripes you are healed!

But I have to step out in faith and hopefully let everyone know that my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is indeed a healer and you are a “Walking Miracle!” A lot has been said of mustard seed faith and several scriptures tell us with that kinda faith mountains can be moved. If your like me we have on our refrigerator a little mustard seed in a picture to remind me of that faith. Let us look at this a little differently and read Matthew 13:31-32, “Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.” What did the sower do? That’s right he planted it, it’s time for us to take the mustard seed off the refrigerator, plant it, water it, give it some sun, and watch it grow to what God intended it to be!

We have or had in our church a poster that says, “Pray Until Something Happens” PUSH, as I was contemplating this I found my attention to the word “Until”, I don’t want a “Until” I want to shout out, “Pray Then Things Happen” PTTH, when the children of God pray in faith in the name of Jesus Christ there are no “until”; there is action right now! You are a “Walking Miracle” not next year, not next week, not even tomorrow, you are one right now!

Let’s me point his out in the miracle in Acts 3:1-8, “Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms. And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God” A walking miracle because two men took that mustard seed faith, planted it, watered it, let it grow in the power of the son of God Jesus Christ and boom!

Let’s all realize that God’s promises are Amen and Amen! Let us walk as the miracles we are and proclaim that with God all things are possible!

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