Hope

1 Corinthians 13:13, “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”

Right smack in the middle of these three is the word “Hope”!

When we think of what the word “hope” means in our vocabulary we often think of something that can convey doubt.

It is defined in the Miriam/Webster dictionary as a verb; to cherish a desire with anticipation: to want something to happen or be true

hopes for a promotion

… all doctors can do is prevent dehydration, wait for the disease to run its course, and hope for the best.

As a noun; desire accompanied by expectation of obtaining what is desired or belief that it is obtainable

came in hopes of seeing you

a new medical treatment that has given hope to thousands.

There are 4 thoughts when it comes to man’s understanding of “Hope”,

Realistic; based on reason and reality

Utopian; hope for a better future achieved by action and goals

Chosen; conscious and deliberate decision to maintain hope despite circumstances

Transcendent; looking beyond current circumstances to find meaning or hope in a higher power

That is not what the word means in the bible!

Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Amplified, “Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses].”

We can look to the Old Testament and see the prophets, Israelites looked longingly to see the Messiah with hope!

Micah 7:7, “Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.”

They were willing to die under extreme hate for this promise instead of surrendering that hope, Hebrews 11:32-39, “And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:”

Hope is a powerful concept, Luke 2:23-32, “And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons. And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.”

We do not know how many times this man came to the temple hoping to see his savior or how old he was…

But he never gave up the hope of what the Holy Ghost revealed to him!

We that have surrendered our lives to Jesus Christ live in hope every day, Romans 8:24-25, “For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.”

I live in that constant hope, it’s what keeps me continuing on this walk with Him, I know Jesus is preparing a place for me and will be coming back to take those that have been born again to that place. Have you seen this place? No! but I know its there because of the Hope that is in me.

It’s the knowledge that “He will never leave me nor forsake me” that is this source of hope.

Rom 15:13, “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”

We recently got two new kittens; they both have Cerebellar Hypoplasia or as sometimes “Wobbly Cats”. They don’t seem to be able to go in a straight line, need help eating, going to the bathroom, and make lots of messes.

You know what? That describes me to a tee, I don’t always go in the direction I want or God wants for my life, I make messes out of a lot of things, these kittens also need to be with us it seems all the time, they know our voice, they know when we are in the room. I want to be just like that, I want to be close to Jesus all the time, and I definitely want to know His voice!

Isa 43:1, “But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.”

In this season of Christmas let’s keep our hearts filled with the hope from knowing our savior Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners and give us a life everlasting with Him!

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Tis the Season

Galatians 4:1-5, “Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”

As we just changed our calendars to November as well as our clocks back one hour many of us are starting to look at this as the beginning of the Holiday season.

We will soon here Christmas music in the stores and radio stations.

If you have shopped at Hobby Lobby anytime in the last 3 or 4 months you saw that Christmas décor was be putting up quickly and by now most of the stores in our area have Christmas displays.

Many places as well as Amazon have had pre–Black Friday sales so you pretty much have to live in a cave to not notice that “Tis the Season” has started.

In a few weeks we have Thanksgiving in which was made a proclamation by President Lincoln in 1863 in attempt to unify our union during civil war times, but it wasn’t officially the 4^th Thursday of the month of November until 1941.

We also know that this wasn’t the first thanksgiving that our country celebrated as several Presidents announced days of thanksgiving prior and for you history buffs in 1621 in Plymouth Massachusetts a group of English colonists and the Wampoang people got together to celebrate what many call the first thanksgiving.

But again, this isn’t what we should call the first thanksgiving, Psalms 100:1-5, “A Psalm of praise. Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.”

1Ch 16:34, “O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.”

Eph 5:18-20, “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;”

1Th 5:16-18, “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

For us Christians and really everybody thanksgiving shouldn’t be a day to be celebrated one day a year but an everyday event!

So “Tis the Season” then becomes all about Christmas!

As a child I think one of the best times was when we received an item in the mail that became the central theme of the next coming weeks.

Yes, the old Sears or JCPenney catalog, soon these catalogs were filled with pieces of papers marking one’s favorite pages. We made lists of the things that we would find under that tree on Christmas tree. With two brothers and a sister by the time Christmas came it looked as if these catalogs had been laying around outside for years as pages were ripped, folder over, these wrinkled covered catalogs.

As I got to adulthood however feeling of “Tis the Season” turned to I owe, I owe, it’s off to work I go and I grow cynical of the holidays as family responsibilities grew more and more busy, you had to be on the ball to get the latest fad for the kids like the cabbage patch dolls, the Teddy Ruxpin or tickle me, Elmo.

Fortunately for me over the years “Tis the Season” transitioned to Jesus is the reason for the season and I grasped the real purpose of the Holidays. I came to realize the gifts are cool and who doesn’t love the expression of a child when he or she opens up that package you so perfectly wrapped for them.

But, it’s about family, and that Jesus, Gal 4:4, “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,”

Its been said the Jesus fulfilled over 300 prophecies of the Old Testament and they include prophecies concerning His birth such as 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.” His place of birth, 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.”

that as a baby he would end up in Egypt, Hosea 11:1, “When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.”

Mat 2:13-15, “And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.”

December 25^th is the day we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior…

Rom 5:1-8, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

John 3:16 “Tis the Season”

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Make a Difference

Most of us desire to have purpose in our lives especially as Christians and the word tells us why we were created.

Eph 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

Rom 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

I hope you have that desire in you that makes us want to serve Him and if we do, we must have that desire to serve others.

Mat 25:31-40, “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

In the parable of the talents before these verses it tells us that God has put in investment in our lives and to the ones that use those talents for “His” purpose He says this, Mat 25:21, “His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”

Often, we think that God won’t notice what we have done unless it makes some big impact but that isn’t the case, it’s often the things that nobody ever notices that make the greatest impact for the Kingdom of God.

When we look at the bible account of Naaman we have one particular verse that notice, 2Ki 5:1, “Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.”

We seldom look at the following two verses, 2Ki 5:2-3, “And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife. And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy”

There would be no healing of this man Naaman without this little maid.

How about the feeding of the five thousand +?

Joh 6:5-7, “When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.” Now two hundred pennyworth wasn’t of particularly of great value, about $32, but it might have been all they had at that particular moment.

Joh 6:8-9, “One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?”

Joh 6:10-13, “And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.”

Do you find it interesting as I do the neither one of these persons name was not mentioned in the miracles but without them the miracle wouldn’t of happened as we have witness of in the word of God.

When I look around in this room I see a room full of people that “Make a Difference”.

Many of our functions at JAM could not be accomplished if it wasn’t for you making a difference. Just being here it makes a difference to many of us.

Jud 1:20-22, “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference:”

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Jesus Loves Me This I Know

Jesus loves me….

One of the first songs that we learn in Sunday School is you had the opportunity as a child to attend.

John 3:16-17, “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. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

Unfortunately, we have a growing population that no longer believes that even those that attend church.

In Ken Ham’s book already gone which is a couple years old the Barna Group was asked to survey many churches young participants and found that 61% of them once they reach their 20’s will leave the church. We often put the blame on the colleges who have for the most part have become increasingly anti-God, pro-socialist in their teachings. When asked when they had made that decision, close to 40% developed doubts about Christianity in middle school, 43.7% in high school, only 10.6 began having doubts in college.

Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

Jesus loves me so…

Amos 8:11-12, “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.”

You say, how can that be, we have bibles everywhere, we can listen to it, we have more and more “Christian” movies, you can watch a sermon anytime, anywhere, we even have apps on our computers and phones!

Let me ask you this, are the majority of the messages good fundamentally sound bible messages? The people sitting and hearing those messages have very little knowledge of the word…we have preachers proclaiming that they are just like God, we are to be prosperous, I even heard a man from the pulpit claim God ask him to forgive Him.

Hosea 4:6-9, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame. They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity. And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings.”

Jesus loves me this I know….

We have a society today that can’t accept God’s love, the age-old question lingers on that if “your” God is such a loving God why is there so much suffering in our world?

Just two weeks ago we had the shooting at Annunciation Catholic church in Minneapolis where 2 were killed at 21 others were injured. You had several politicians come out at tell us that prayer wasn’t the answer, Jen Psaki said, “enough with the thoughts and prayers” Mayor Jacob Frey said, “Don’t just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now, these kids were literally praying…”

Genesis 6:5-6, “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.”

Matthew 24:37-39, “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”

Jesus loves me this I know…

This book, “the bible tells us of the love of God, psalms 136:1, “O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.”

Romans 5:8, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

2Co 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

John 3:16

Jesus loves me this I know…

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Have You Received?

Acts 19:1-7, “And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. And all the men were about twelve.”

Reasons we don’t receive!

Act 2:39, “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.”

Need to Hear!

Rom 10:13-17, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

Fear!

2Ti 1:6-7, “Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

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.”

Comforts and Teaches us!

John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Intercedes for us!

Rom 8:26, “likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”

Makes a way!

Rom 8:8-11, “So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”

Desire!

Matthew 5:6 promises, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Mark 9:23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?

When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.

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Power with God and Man

Has anyone in here done any wrestling?

Has anyone in here found yourself wrestling with a problem in your life?

Has anyone in here ever wrestled with God?

A couple weeks ago I did a message titled “What are you clinging to?”

And I used the reference of Jacob wrestling with the Angel of the Lord and looking at it further I missed something in the event, Gen 32:28, “And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.”

POWER WITH GOD AND WITH MEN!

I asked myself why and how did Jacob get to this point that something special would happen in his relationship with God and man.

If we look back, we know Jacob had a twin brother named Esau who was the firstborn entitled to the blessings from his father Issac. But his mother and him tricked Issac to giving the blessing to Jacob and as result Jacob found himself fleeing and working for his uncle Laban for 20 years.

Gen 31:3, “And the LORD said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.”

Jacob then gathered his family and possessions and headed back home. When uncle Laban found out he wasn’t very happy and got together a posse to pursue Jacob. I’m not sure what his original intent was but for Labans sake the Lord spoke to him in Gen 31:24, “And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him, Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.”

Then as Jacob and the crew precede further he sent word to Esau and when they returned Gen 32:6-7, “And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him. Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands;”

Gen 32:9-11, “And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee: I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.”

Looks like Esau is going to get that long awaited revenge against his deceiving little brother so, Jacob thought a little bribery would work.

Gen 32:13-18, “And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother; Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams, Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals. And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove. And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee? Then thou shalt say, They be thy servant Jacob’s; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, also he is behind us.”

The scene is now set for “The Holy Wrestling Match of the Century”!

Gen 32:24-28, “And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. (what was so important about that statement) And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.”

POWER WITH GOD AND WITH MEN!

Jacob was able to rebuild his relationship with Esau…

I asked everyone earlier if they ever been a wrestling match with God?

Did you give up before the match was over? I’m sure on the side of that wrestling mat we will find many of souls that surrendered, some maybe at the very brink of getting that victory!

Jer 29:13, “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”

Music to me is what leads me into a place that gives me the ultimate victory in the wrestling matches I sometimes enter into.

This is my desire to honor you, Lord with all my heart I worship you, and all I have within me I give you praise…

Draw me close to you, never let me go, I lay it all down again to hear You say that I’m Your friend…

This is the air breathe Your holy presence living in me, this is my daily bread, your very word spoken to me, And I’m desperate for you

Beautiful Lord, Wonderful Savior, I know for sure all of my days are held in Your hands, crafted into Your perfect plan…Take me, mold me, use me, fill me…

Act 1:8, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

POWER WITH GOD AND WITH MEN!

Many times, we wrestle with things we need to get rid of in our lives.

Act 9:1-6, “And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.”

We wrestle with many things and its not just sin, sometimes its our own self-righteousness. For me it was the standards established at a previous church I attended.

Whatever it is that you’ve been wrestling with, its time you get it pinned down to the mat. You can’t imagine what it will do for your life, it can rebuild relationships, it can get rid of a judgmental attitude, and it can even free you from the guilt you may have been carrying.

POWER WITH GOD AND WITH MEN

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Thankful for the Scars

John 20:27, “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.”

Jesus, even after His resurrection still possessed the scars He received during His trial.

I don’t know if when we see Jesus in heaven if he will still have those scars but in the book of Revelations when referring to Israel it is written that they will look upon Him who they had pierced.

Who in here does not have a scar on their body?

Who in here does not know the story behind that scar?

I’ve had many and I know the story behind every single one (bicep, hand, finger, eye, knee, chin, abdomen, thumb).

But we also have scars that cannot be seen that have more of an impact on us than any of those scars that we can see.

Luke 5:27-32, “And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me. And he left all, rose up, and followed him. And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them. But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners? And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Can you imagine the label this man named Levi had carried, the tax man doesn’t get much of liking in our day, can you imagine the scars they carried back then, a publican and a sinner. I’m not afraid to say that I am not whole, but in need of a physician, because I’m a sinner.

But these are the ones God chooses, in Matthew West song “Broken Things” he has a verse that says “That its never the perfect, its always the ones with the scars you use”.

1 Corinthians 1:25-29, “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.”

We can look at those that Jesus chose to take His message of salvation to the world and none would have been the first choice of the religious world today. They were men with callouses on their hands, the look of people that have been out in the wind and storms providing a living for their families. Their speech wouldn’t be as eloquent as those who that find themselves on the airways today.

Luke 14:16-24, “Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.”

Most of us in here if not all of us were not born into this faith, we were found on the streets, we’re poor in spirit if not in the physical, were maimed (scarred), halt and blind. But when we heard the good news, it drew us to Him and though we weren’t much, Jesus accepted us and gave us a promise of life and that more abundant than we ever had.

Probably the main reason God choses the foolish is that there is one thing that God does not take fondly to, PRIDE!

I am a man with many scars that you cannot see and some I have to admit are not healed, but that has given me such a love for Christ and His people that I will go to the ends of the earth for anyone of you.

When I put many of these messages together, its not me speaking, it’s Jesus Christ speaking through me. I’m simply amazed at how things have happened in my life, how God has put certain people in my life, how He has opened doors to me, and I’m not the only one here that can say that.

Many in here including me have been through a lot and when someone I going through a trial that they think they cannot endure, we are the testimony that says that you can make it.

Do you have scars? Then let God use them to further His kingdom!

Isaiah 53:4-5, “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”

We are indeed the foolish of this world and that’s a great thing!

Be thankful for the scars.

Picture care of: http://www.ehope.org

The Importance of Fathers

Ephesians 6:1-4, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”

In our world today there is a lot of importance placed on sports figures, politicians, educators, jobs, etc

But one area that should receive a lot more notoriety is the “father”!

Now I’m well aware that we have in our world fathers that are truly unfit for that title, whether they are abusive emotionally or physically there are times that it is best for that person to be out of the picture.

In the Guardians of the Galaxy we have Yondu telling Star-Lord at the end of #2 that Ego may have been his father but he was not his daddy.

We also need to be sensitive to the fathers who have lost a child that this can be a difficult time. As a father who has lost two children, I’m well aware of the pain of waiting for that text message, phone call, or card that never will come. I pray the comforter Jesus Christ will comfort you on this day and the days to come.

But overall, the “Father” is an important figure in the health of the family. Proverbs 23:22-26, “Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old. Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding. The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him. Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice. My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.”

In 1968, 85% of children under 18 lived with two parents (regardless of marital status); by 2020, 70% did, according to the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS).

Fatherhood Initiative https://fatherhoodinitiative.org/research

Fatherless Homes Account For:

63% of Youth Suicides

71% of High School Dropouts

90% of Homeless: & Runaway Children

2x more likely to drop out of high school

4x more likely to grow up in poverty.

7x more likely to become pregnant as a teen.

1 in 4 children grow up without a father in the home.

Among the different ethnic groups, the numbers are even become more staggering:

Among whites 78.6% have homes with both parents, Hispanics have 67.9%, but among blacks you have only 41.3% of both parents living in the same home.

There are currently more than 17,000,000 (other research suggests nearly 30,000,000) children growing up in America without their fathers.

One of the main contributors to fatherlessness are divorce and out-of-wedlock births. In 2019 there were 1,498,113 out-of-wedlock births. That is 40% of all births in the United States.

Matthew 24:37-38, “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,”

Children need both parents and with the growing absence of fathers, the focus is on the need for them. I applaud the single mothers that work so hard and are doing the best job they can alone, but we need to have fathers step up and do the job God ordained them to do!

Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Fathers have the responsibility to teach children in the ways of the Lord.

This doesn’t always guarantee that our children will always do what’s right and that at times may even break our hearts. But no matter what we will love them.

The best way to understand the love that God has for us is to have children, the story of the prodigal son is a perfect example of Gods love for us, Luke 15:17-24, “And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.”

We need Fathers!

Picture care of: YouTube.com

The Spirit of Fear

2Timothy 1:1-7, “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day; Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy; When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

Fear: “an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger”

According to Clifford Nass, a professor of communication at Stanford University, “We get scared because of what we imagine could happen. Some neuroscientists claim that humans are the most fearful creatures on the planet because of our ability to learn, think, and create fear in our minds.” Once you have become frightened, everything seems scarier, and your fear response becomes amplified. It’s called potentiation when your fear becomes intensified and you react more powerfully. For example, if you are already afraid of snakes, and you see one, you might jump back and scream – even if it’s a harmless garter snake.

Fear does have two positive outputs according to the word of God, Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased.”

Fear, “reverence”

Jude 1:21-23, “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.”

Fear today is being wielded as a powerful weapon to control us and to conform our minds to be totally dependent on those who have become our masters.

Just think in the past couple decades how we have surrendered freedoms one after another whether you feel that makes you safer or not.

We can go back to the disaster at the twin towers and easily see how things changed for the way we travel by air. You can’t take liquids over a certain amount, you have to empty your pockets, take your shoes and belt off, go through an x-ray machine and if deemed necessary may be put in a room to be examined further.

We also have an ever-increasing number of restrictions put on our right to bear arms.

Your right to speech has also been limited against certain cultural beliefs that at one time wouldn’t be acceptable in most places which can get you banned, arrested, or even worse!

Look how a small virus has completely changed our country starting over 4 years ago.

Luk 21:26, “Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.” Fear!

They are trying to use fear to control us in every facet of our lives, has anybody heard of climate change?

How about our coming election, if we don’t vote the way they tell us our democracy is over, we will be in WW3, interestingly those making that claim are the ones who have those intentions.

You ever heard of Disease X?

In 2018 he WHO announced a shortlist of priority diseases, disease X represents the knowledge that a serious international epidemic could be cause by a pathogen currently unknown to cause human disease, January 28^th 2024 the symptoms were announced, symptoms appear suddenly and may consist of fever, cramps in the muscles, fainting, neck pian, back pain, headaches, swollen eyes, and light sensitivity.

A few paragraphs later it says additional signs and symptoms include fast heartbeat, swelling of lymph nodes, and petechial blisters on the skin and inside surfaces like the mouth and throat.

After the fourth- or fifth-day patients can get organ failure, in the second week of the illness most patients pass away. It is expected to kill 50 million people so are you fearful now?

The good news that after the ninth or tenth day of sickness most survivors get better.

H.R.3832 Disease X Act of 2023 introduced 6/5/2023 gives (BARDA) more power to develop a program for developing medical countermeasures for any viral threats with pandemic potential.

1Jn 4:17-19, “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us.”

Hebrews 13:5-6, “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. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”

This World is seeking total control over mankind and to do that it needs to silence the church.

What should we do?

Keep speaking the truth anyway

Combat the lies of the enemy with the Word of God

To expose sin

To tell the world of the coming consequences of the sin

To share the rescue that came through Jesus Christ.

I will not live in fear!

2 Timothy 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

Dealing With Grief

Romans 8:18, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

In spite of we as Christians have been told we just like every other person in this fallen world go through times of grief. One author put it this way, “Grief never ends, it’s a passage, not a place to stay. Grief is not a sign of weakness nor a lack of faith, It is the price we pay for love.”

Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” When I was dealing with the loss of my daughter to cancer, I will be honest and say that I didn’t like this scripture very much. How could something so horrible ever work together for any good…ever, and even today it’s a tragedy in my life that I still don’t care to think about but I have learned several things as result of handling grief.

Grief can either destroy you or can motivate you and for me it has allowed me to become more compassionate to others especially those that have experienced loss similar to what our family has. Matthew 5:4, “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” We receive comfort from not only Gid but from others.

It definitely gave me a different perspective on precious, how fragile life, and how short life is, James 4:14, “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”

Grief has allowed me to not be fearful of showing emotions for I once took great pride in keeping my emotions in check. We are often told and have told our children to not cry or to suck it up and take it like a man. With the loss of my friend Russ, then my son Jeff, and then my daughter Sarah I found that I could no longer control those emotions and you know what? Its Okay! Isaiah 53:3, “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” Jesus knew grief and likewise understands the grief we suffer as well.

So, with that, I would like to talk about the bit “D”, yes “Depression”. Something that we as Christians ignore and claim that we are immune to it since we are filled with the Spirit of God. After the culmination of the three deaths in a relatively short time even though at the time I would have denied it, I was indeed in period of depression. I was never angry with God, but I was disappointed, because I know our Lord is a healer, but my friend and daughter where not healed.

I thought to myself that how could I ever enjoy life again, what is the point of going on if everything I love is being taken from me. Now I wasn’t suicidal (I don’t think) but I was emotional numb.

So, this gets me to the picture of our cat Bullet that I selected for this blog. I always been okay with cats but I could live without them. So, one day my wife decides to bring this kitten home and I was like why? But watching this little ball of fur run around, get into mischief, lay on my feet, purr as it would nibble on my nose, I began to laugh and smile once again, (we ended up with another cat “Duke” as Bullet was supposed to be a boy and turned out to be a girl and I’m okay with that).

Our cats didn’t save my life for only Jesus Christ can do that but they did change me to start enjoying life which is one thing we need to remember when going through grief is that it will be okay to smile, laugh, and have a good time one day and you shouldn’t feel guilty about it!

Psalms 34:18, “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.”

The last thing I want to share about grief is that it has made me even more aware of how much I need Jesus in my life, He never left me nor forsook me during my grief or my entire life and one day I will be in His marvelous presence, 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.”