Friday, July 31, 2009

CRISIS?
#1. Whenever you face difficulties, remember that God is in control of all your circumstances (see Romans 8:28-29).
Psalm 103:19 declares, "The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all." This is why believers can be sure that we will overcome every obstacle and problem---because God can handle whatever happens and is responsible for leading us to victory. Though He may not have
initiated our trials, He allowed them. That means He can bring good out of them and teach us powerful lessons if we trust Him.

#2. Remember that the Lord takes full responsibility for all your needs when you are following Him in obedience (see Romans 8:31-32).
Paul confirmed this principle when he wrote, "God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19). The Father is faithful to provide for you, even when you cannot see how He will do so (Psalm 37:25). After all, He provided His very best---His only begotten Son ---to save you from your sins. Of course, this does not mean that God will give you everything you want. Sometimes the things you desire do not fulfill His purpose for your life. But you can be sure that whatever the Lord offers you--and even in what He withholds-- He always has your best interest at heart (Matt. 7:9-11)

#3.
Remember that if you have trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, the Lord is always with you (Romans 8:35-37).
You are not alone. No matter where you go or what you go through, God will never forsake you (Deut 31:6,8; John 14:18; Hebrews 13:5). David testified to this when he wrote, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me" (Psalm 23:4). Though others may abandon you or leave you for some reason, the Lord won't. He can't because as a believer, you are sealed with His Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). This means that you always have the most powerful Friend, Counselor, and Advocate with you to heal you, help you, and lead you when the road of life grows lonely and confusing.

#4. Remember that the Lord loves you with an eternal, irrevocable love (Romans 8:38-39).
You cannot lose God's love. It is unconditional, sacrificial, and based on His unwavering character--not on your behavior (Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:7-10). That does not mean He condones sin. Oh the contrary, ungodly behavior is destructive to you, so He despises it. Rather, it means His affection for you is not based on what you do. You don't have to earn it or work to keep it. When you fail, you do not forfeit it. And no one could every convince Him to care for you less. His love is freely given and all you have to do is open your heart to receive it.

We cannot escape the changes and trials of life, but believers can have confidence no matter what we face. Look to God no matter what your circumstances are. Rejoice that He is in control, provides for your needs, is always with you, and loves you. Because that, my friend, is the way to have peace, strength, and assurance through even the most troublesome times.

---Charles F. Stanley

MOMS IN TOUCH


Are you a mom who deeply loves her children and longs for them to grow up to be loving, confident and successful? Do you fear that influences outside your control will steal their hearts? You are not alone …
Moms In Touch International is:
  • Two or more moms who meet regularly to pray for their children, their schools, their teachers and administrators.
  • Mothers, grandmothers or anyone who is willing to pray for a specific child and school.
  • Moms who believe that prayer makes a difference.
Please consider joining a MITI group. We pray for one hour once a week. I guarantee you will see God working in amazing ways. To find out more about this wonderful ministry, go to
momsintouch.org.
"pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children," --Lamentations 2:19

SYATP


See You At The Pole will be on September 23rd at 7am. This is where students (and invited guests) go to the flagpole of their public school and pray and worship. You should inform the Principal of the school in advance. See their site at SYATP.com for resources, information, and planning. Every school should be bathed in prayer for the coming year!

ΙΧΘΥΣ

The "Jesus fish." What really is it? The fish symbol by itself was used to identify oneself as a Christian. Following Christ's crucifixion when Christians were persecuted and even killed, it was a symbol that fellow Christians would understand and recognize but non-Christians would not. Christians could connect to each other with this symbol without revealing themselves to their oppressors. At that time, the cross was not used as a Christian symbol-- probably due to the fact that the early Christians needed no reminder of how Jesus died; they saw it in its most hideous form all too frequently.

ΙΧΘΥΣ is the Greek word for fish (pronunced ik-thiss). The English spelling is Ichthus or Ichthys. The addition of ΙΧΘΥΣ inside the fish stands for Jesus.


Ι
Iota
Χ
Chi
Θ
Theta
Υ
Upsilon
Σ
Sigma
IesousChristosTheouYios *Soter
JesusChristGod'sSonSaviour

(* pronounced Iios -
with emphasis on the 'o')









The "Darwin Fish" that is seen in the cartoon and on the backs of many cars is the owner's belief in the absurd theory of evolution. Plus, they get in a little dig at Christians. How sad that so many are deceived. And that they would mock something that represents Jesus. Please pray that everyone who sports one of these on their car has their eyes opened to see the truth.

"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." -- Galatians 6:7

Thursday, July 23, 2009

TO MY JEWISH FRIENDS

"Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them," declares the LORD. "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, "I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. For I will forgive their iniquities and remember their sins no more."-- Jeremiah 31:31-34

THOUGHTS TO PONDER
What is this "New Covenant?" What would be the basis of atonement under it? Atonement requires the shedding of blood (Leviticus 17:11). Since the Temple no longer exists, it is impossible to sacrifice. Prayers cannot take the place of a sacrifice-- there is no shedding of blood. Besides, if prayer could suffice, why would God have ever instituted sacrifice to begin with? Would God have allowed the Temple to be destroyed and stay destroyed for so long without another way? Click on picture for more information.

STAR OF DAVID

On July 22, 2009 over Asia and India there was a total eclipse. As the sun was starting to peek out again it resembled the Star of David. Cool, huh?

Monday, July 20, 2009

A STUDY ON THE FEASTS OF ISRAEL


There are astounding correlations between the feasts God covenanted with Israel and Jesus Christ's first and second coming events.

PASSOVER---->JESUS CHRIST'S CRUCIFIXION

FEAST OF THE UNLEAVEN BREAD----> JESUS CHRIST'S BURIAL

FEAST OF THE FIRST FRUITS----> JESUS' RESURRECTION

PENTECOST---->SENDING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

ROSH HASHANAH---->RAPTURE

YOM KIPPUR----> JUDGMENT DAY

FEAST OF BOOTHS--->MILLENNIAL KINGDOM

For anyone who is interested in this I have written notes at GOING DEEPER IN HIS WORD.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

YOUNG LIFE


I once heard someone say that we are so concerned with the type of learning our children are receiving in the education system, what they are watching on TV or in the movies, what they are reading, etc...but are we as careful with what their spiritual leaders are teaching them? Just because someone calls themselves a Christian---well, we all know that doesn't make them a Christian.
Young Life is a youth ministry that goes to where adolescents are and builds relationships with them while presenting the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I recently had reason to check out their Statement of Faith. And I found it pretty comprehensive. No prosperity gospel. No emergent church babble. No New Age hype. Just straight forward principled beliefs. Do they line up with yours?

PREAMBLE: We the members of the Young Life mission join together in our affirmation of the following articles and our central purpose of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ and introducing adolescents everywhere to Jesus Christ and helping them grow in their faith.ARTICLE I
The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments being given by divine inspiration, are the Word of God, the final and supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.
ARTICLE II
In the Scriptures, God reveals Himself as the living and true God, Creator of all things. Perfect in love and righteous in all His ways, this one God exists eternally as a Trinity of persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
ARTICLE III
God made man and woman in His image that He might have fellowship with us. Being estranged from God by our disobedience, we are, as sinful people, incapable of a right relationship to God apart from divine grace.
ARTICLE IV
The only Mediator between God and all human beings is Jesus Christ our Lord, God's eternal Son, who as man fully shared and fulfilled our humanity in a life of perfect obedience.
ARTICLE V
By His death in our place, Jesus revealed the divine love and upheld divine justice, removing our guilt and reconciling us to God. Having risen bodily from the dead and ascended into heaven, He rules as Lord over all and intercedes for us as our great high priest.
ARTICLE VI
The Holy Spirit, through the proclamation of the Gospel, renews our hearts, persuading us to repent of our sins and confess Jesus as Lord. By the same Spirit, we are led to trust in divine mercy, whereby we are forgiven all our sins, justified by faith through the merit of Christ our Savior, adopted into God's family as His children and enabled so to live in the world that all people may see our good works and the Gospel of grace at work in our lives and glorify our Father who is in heaven.
ARTICLE VII
God, by His Word and Spirit, calls us as sinful people into the fellowship of Christ's body. Thus He creates the one holy, catholic and apostolic church, united in the bonds of love, endowed with the gifts of the Spirit and summoned by Christ to preach the Gospel and to administer the sacraments, to carry on the ministry of reconciliation, to relieve human need and strive for social justice.
ARTICLE VIII
God's redemptive purpose will be consummated by the return of Christ to raise the dead, judge all people and establish His glorious kingdom. Those who are apart from Christ shall be eternally separated from God's presence, but the redeemed shall live and reign with Him forever.

Friday, July 17, 2009

PRAISE TO THE KING

How amazing God is. Really. I have been contemplating the "first Adam--last Adam." The similarities. The polar opposites that open the door to redemption. I think of all the people before Christ that through the centuries were told the story of Adam and Eve--- never knowing that much later on the timeline God Himself would step into time as the last Adam. And how privileged we are to be on this side of the incarnation. To be able to see it accomplished. To hold in our hands the very words describing both men. How God's plan, God's will, God's purpose was carried out. 
Who could have guessed? Who could have known? Only El Elyon. Praise to the King.


First Adam vsLast Adam

Ithe BiblePaul called Jesus the “Last Adam” because he is the remedy for idolatry and the redeemer of humanity, where as the first Adam was the source of idolatry and the down fall of humanity.
The first Adam turned from the Father in a garden; the last Adam turned to the Father in a garden.
The first Adam was naked and unashamed; the last Adam was naked and bore our shame.
The first  Adams sin brought us thorns; the last Adam wore a crown of thorns.
The first  Adam substituted himself for God; the last Adam was God substituting himself for sinners.
The first Adam sinned ta tree;the last Adam bore our sin on a tree.
The first  Adam died as a sinner;the last Adam died for sinners.

According to the Bible,we die in Adam but are born again in Christ: “For as in Adam we all die,even so in Christ all shall be made alive”.
IAdam there is condemnation, but in Christ there is salvation.
IAdam wreceive a sin nature, but in Christ wreceive a new nature.
IAdam were cursed, but in Christ were blessed.
IAdam there is wrath and death, but in Christ there is love and life.
ARE YOU IN ADAM OR IN CHRIST?
This is incredibly important because, literally, your identity and your eternal destiny hang in the balance of whether you’re in Adam or you’re in Christ. You’re born in Adam as a sinner and you’re born again in Christ, who is the Saviour.
None of us are individuals alone. None of us are isolated. None of us stand alone. We’re part of one of two groups, one of two families, one of two teams, one of two nations: those who are in Adam, and those who are in Christ. Here’s how Paul says it in 1 Corinthians 15:21–22. “For as by a man came death,” that’s Adam, “by a man has also come the resurrection of the dead,” that’s Jesus. “For in Adam,” there’s one team, one group, one category, “all die”, but in Christ,” (here’s today’s big idea), “in Christ shall all be made alive.”
.......................***click here for more

Thursday, July 16, 2009

FIRST ADAM--- LAST ADAM

First Adam—last Adam
Both are vital to the Gospel ... but exactly how? (click here)

Once again I am amazed at the depth of the written Word of God. As such a simple thinker, I tend to take things at face value and not probe deeply. Obviously, therefore, when a complex doctrine is presented to me I am astounded. Here is a link provided to share this astonishment with you.
click on the picture for the answer!

THIEVERY CEASES IN THE PRESENCE OF AWAKENED IDENTITY

"Thievery is a horrible crime... it's mind-numbing how much is stolen from us on a daily basis: the spoils of victory, the comforts of joy, the grandness of redemption- all of it seemingly so accessible to the thieves that stalk us from their dark alleyways and cowardly hiding places.

I think what's more heartbreaking is that we unwittingly surrender our sovereignty over these things...

... so in the end it's not thievery at all, it's more like a case of us delegating undue authority unto demons who have no right nor position over us until that moment when we actually open the door and lay out our welcome mats to them.

This unseen war between the dying flesh and the newborn spirit is an all-too-real one, with casualties far beyond our capacity to understand. Far too often it is our joy and our dreams that lay battered by the wayside, victims of unholy cunning and wit.

I say, enough.

I will delight over you with joy, calm you with my love, and rejoice over you with singing... for you are my beloved who has stolen my heart, my sons and daughters who have captivated my thoughts...

Thievery ceases in the presence of awakened identity."

...............--- Sam from Jesusbranded

Wednesday, July 15, 2009


YOU SHOULD KNOW
Somehow the Washington D.C.'s Capitol Visitors Center was
finished without any reference to our Christian heritage.
No "In God We Trust."
No mention of a pledge that contains the words
"one nation under God."
It literally took an act of Congress to get those words etched on the building. There were 410 U.S. Representatives that voted for the passage of HCR131 (House Concurrent Resolution 131) that directed the architect of the Capitol to etch in stone the motto and the pledge. There were 8 that actually voted AGAINST and 2 that only were recorded as "present," apparently not wanting to weigh in 'for' or 'against.' Here are their names:

those that voted AGAINST
JOHN CONYERS (D) Michigan
DONNA EDWARDS (D) MarylandMAZIE HIRANO (D) Hawaii
MIKE HONDA (D) California
JIM MCDERMOTT (D) Washington
RON PAUL (R) Texas
BOBBY SCOTT (D) Virginia
PETE STARK (D) California
those that were merely "present"
SAM FARR (D) California
JIM MORAN (D) Virginia
If you know anyone these Congressmen & women represent, please let them know so that it can be remembered in November!

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

HUMAN BEINGS NEED TO BE KNOWN
TO BE LOVED.

GOD MUST BE LOVED TO BE KNOWN.
--- Blaise Pascal- 17th century mathematician & philosopher

4 FALSE GOSPELS

1. RELATIONAL GOSPEL:
"Be my friend, let's have fun, oh, hey, let me tell you about Jesus."
2. RELEVANCY GOSPEL:
"Hey, look at who's a Christian! It must be right!"
3. RESOURCE GOSPEL:
"God wants you to prosper and be wealthy! Just believe it!"
4. REASONABLE GOSPEL:
"When you think about it, gee, doesn't it make so much sense?"

do not be misled!
Serve God without shame-- retain the standard of sound words.
Have faith that God will use the message
and have love for the people.
PREACH:
-repentance to sin
-broken before God
-ask Him to do for you what you cannot do for yourself

***PROTECT THE GOSPEL***

Thursday, July 2, 2009

abortion

A woman who sets her rights, the supposed right to privacy or right over her own body, above the life of another human being is saying that a woman's rights are superior to human rights. She has put herself above the human race, she has made herself the executor over life and death. Is that a woman's right? -- Dr Janet Smith