June 14, 2015

MY FRIENDS, JUST BLAME IT ON THE CHRISTIANS, THEY DID IT!!

Christianity did not start as a religion, but as a movement with it’s main focal point centered around one person, Jesus Christ. The name Christ comes from christos, a Greek word meaning “anointed.” It is the equivalent of the word mashiach, or Messiah, in Hebrew.

So to be Christ, or the Messiah, is to be “the Anointed one of God.” Priests and kings were anointed during this time, So Messiah or Christ is a King chosen and anointed by God. (Our Rabi Jesus His Jewish life and Teachings)

The Hatred for Christ and His followers begin in heaven when Satan’s desire was to be like the most High, and it continued at His birth when Herod tried to have the baby Jesus killed and continued throughout His ministry. This hatred for Christ went to another level with each step that led up to Christ Crucifixion and resurrection at Calvary.

Then Nero who searched for a scapegoat for the burning of Rome, begin persecuting the Christians ruthlessly by torturing and executing them in the most hideous ways and it has continued throughout History with the death of millions.

2000 years since the death of Christ and Christians are still being crucified, decapitated, shot, imprisoned, persecuted, harassed, their property confiscated and churches destroyed. But where I need you to focus at today is how strong is your faith, and how committed are you to what you believe in.

Suppose your faith comes down to your livelihood, or whether you can provide for your family or not “If You Don’t Stand for Something, we will Fall for Anything” that quote, as a Christian, must have some type of meaning as we make it personal and ask ourselves, what does the name of Christ stand for in my life? And does that name have some kind of impact on my belief and how far I will follow a name, or a movement?

In addition, if we have decided to make Jesus Christ and His life, our life, than the weight of the cross on our shoulders is inevitable, and only the one who carried that cross for you and I can be the one who determines our destination and how heavy our cross will be.

But my friends, it starts with the faith of a mustard seed, and with that small amount of faith “if  you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” Matt. 17:20 (NKJV) not even the thought of death, because how can any-one kill someone who is already dead.

Yes “dead in the anointed one, our redeemer, the one who gave it all so that we may live throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity, in His pure and holy kingdom. So today my friends if your faith is being stretched to its limit, or to what we consider the breaking point, remember if Christ is our life, than He can only be the one that determines what our limits are.

But our “God is faithful; he will not let [His children] be tempted beyond what [we] can bear. But when [we] are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that [we] can endure it.” 1 Cor. 10:13 (NIV) because this is all about preparing us for a time, a place, a Situation, and circumstance, that if He would allow it to happen today we would not be able to handle it.

So as Christians, led by Jehovah, let’s stay strong and endure as we lift up our eyes to the hills From whence comes our help? And soon we will see Him in all of His majesty and glory, coming through the clouds above, and His reward will be with Him, life eternal.

So friends stay focused, remain faithful, love one another and endure till the end and never forget to STUDY&PRAY

June 13, 2015

MY FRIENDS, AT THE MIDNIGHT CRY WE WILL BE GOING HOME!!

“I hear the sound Of a mighty rushing wind And it’s closer now Than it’s ever been. I can almost hear the trumpet And Gabriel sounds the chord At the Midnight Cry when We’ll be going home.”

“And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; Then the virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. But the foolish virgins had allowed the oil of their lamps too run out.”

“Only those who have been diligent students of the Scriptures and who have received the love of the truth will be shielded from the powerful delusion that takes the world captive.” “Our people need to understand the oracles of God; they need to have a systematic knowledge of the principles of revealed truth, which will fit them for what is coming upon the earth and prevent them from being carried about by every wind of doctrine.” (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 273, The Great Controversy, p. 625)

My friends, it is obvious, the five foolish virgins did not see the importance of being Diligent students of the scriptures, or having a systematic knowledge of the principles of revealed truth.

Let’s make it personal today and ask ourselves which set of virgins do we represent, the wise or the foolish. How often or how important is studying the word of God when we already have such a busy schedule, school, work, taking the kids to soccer practice, church activities and please let’s not leave out the most important part of our busy schedules, watching Empire, scandal and dancing with the stars on our television.

My friends, there will come a time when trying to acquire a knowledge of God’s word will be of no avail. The parable of the ten virgins is a warning of complacency in not studying God’s word. “And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.

Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’  But He answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.” Matt. 25:6-13 (NKJV) “I do not know you,” the saddest words we will ever hear if the things of this world causes us to be  unprepared when Christ comes to take His children home.

My friends, prophecies and the signs of the times are a daily occurrence. I don’t know about you but I can almost hear the father As he says Son let’s go get our children.” And that can only happen if we have a passion to seek the wisdom and believe in the promises that can only be found in the word of God, which can only happen if our focus is on “things above and not on the things of this earth.”

As followers of Christ there must be a fire that burns within our mind and body as we study God’s word and become witnesses for Christ and to everyone we may come in contact with each day.  Luke tells us in Luke 24:32 (KJV) when the two disciples of Christ on the road to Emmaus, realizing it was  Christ they had spoken too.

Said to one another “did not our heart burn within us while he talked with us on the road, and while he opened the scriptures to us?” That word burn, meaning to be set, or consumed on Fire. This is what God wants from each of his Children.

And that is, to be consumed with a burning passion through God’s word and Spirit, then, when God says it is finish, we will be able to say as we look above and see our Savior coming through the clouds, “lo this is our God who we have waited for.”

So friends stay focused, remain faithful, love one another and endure till the end and never forget to STUDY&PRAY

June 12, 2015

MY FRIENDS, PLEASE CAN I BE CRUCIFIED UPSIDE DOWN?

“History and tradition records that the Apostle Peter was crucified upside down upon a Roman cross. He supposedly died at the hands of the Roman Emperor Nero by crucifixion. Feeling unworthy to be crucified in the same manner as Jesus Christ.”

This was Peter’s request and Nero being the diabolical monster he was, remember this is the same man who supposedly set Rome on fire as he sung on a harp, had no problem fulfilling such a request. But today our devotional is not about Nero, but about Peter’s request to die in such a manner.

My friends, today I want each of us to put ourselves in Peter’s shoes standing before Nero as one of Christ Apostles, as we are being asked to recant our belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Recant that we have already been crucified with Christ and we no longer live, but Christ lives in us and the life we now live in the body, we live by faith in the Son of God, who loved us and gave himself for our salvation.” Gal 2:20 (NIV)

We then tell Nero, with no reservation in our voice, It will be a pleasure, Just allow me to be crucified upside down, for I am unworthy,!! In addition, you a worker of iniquity for the god of this world, you cannot kill someone that has already died in Christ.

I can only imagine Peter looked back over His life and the only thing that comes to mind is, after “an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.”

But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.” Luke 22:59-62 (ESV)

My friends, look back behind you and let your life penetrate every fiber of your being today and remember all of the times that our Savior knocked and knocked and knocked seeking just a small entry into our heart. “And being in agony He was praying very fervently [to His father, this is the one I died for] as His sweat becomes like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.” Luke 22:24 (NASB)

It’s personal now my friends because as the purity of Christ looks at us, the one who was “pierced for our transgressions, and crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” Is. 53:5-7 (NIV) as we read that text we should all fall on our knees and say please dear Lord can I be crucified upside down for I am unworthy?

But my friends, I can also hear a sweet whisper, as we rest in the bosom of our Savior, as He says to us, just love as I love that is all I ask, for “the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few,” just be one of the few, and serve me, carry your cross, be my disciple, witness to others about what I have done in your life.

And soon, I will enter the clouds with ten thousand, times thousands and thousands and thousands of angels in all my glory. and My reward  will be with me, and I will give it to each person according to what they have done.” Rev. 22:12 (NIV)

So friends stay focused, remain faithful, love one another and endure till the end and never forget to STUDY&PRAY

June 10, 2015

MY FRIENDS, WE MUST ALLOW GOD TO CHANGE OUR CULTURE, BEFORE HE CAN CHANGE US!!

Webster defines culture as; “the quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent” William Miller who is credited with beginning the mid-nineteenth century North American religious movement that was known as the Millerites, makes a statement that says

“I have fixed my mind on another time, and here I mean to stand until God gives me more light, and that is today, today, and today, until he comes, and I see him for whom my soul yearns. (William Miller) for whom my soul yearns how sweet the sound.

“I have fixed my mind on another time” that tells me that I have completely put what I regard as excellent, in the hands of my Savior who has taken on that responsibility, as we “Cast our cares on the lord as He sustains us.” Ps. 55:22 (KJV)

Now my friends where I need you to focus today is, the Good Shepherd telling you and I to “Cast our cares on the lord and he will sustain us.” In addition, as a child of God that statement tell us, that is where we need to fix our mind as we stand still and recognize the power of God and what He is capable of Doing through us and for us.

But we have to change our entire culture and what we regard as excellent as we move closer to Christ second coming. It must be all about faith, faith and more faith. And of course “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17 (KJV)

Faith, and knowing God’s Word and where He is trying to take us on this journey He has placed us on, each essential to the life expectancy of the other. So if we take one of those elements out it would be a real catastrophe.

Mark 4:19 (KJV) tells us “But the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.” So my friends this lets me know before we can fix our mind on another time, before we can change the culture of what we regard as excellent.

We must first dissociate ourselves from the things of this world that do not center our attention on Jesus Christ and Him crucified and the culture of a pure and holy kingdom. Starting with what we watch on TV, the internet, what we read, how we spend our time, and what we spend the resources that God gives us on.

Friends, if we are serious about our Salvation there must be a deep passion from within, a passion for righteousness by faith, and a passion for God’s word to penetrate from within until our light so shine that the culture of those we witness too change also as they see Christ in everything we do and say.

Paul tells us “our citizenship is in heaven” that my friends is the culture we must be focused on and the words of our savior Himself that tells us “Let not your heart be troubled;… [about the cares and the culture of this world] our Savior told us before He ascended to His kingdom, In His Father’s house are many mansions; and one of them has each of His Children’s name on it.

But only if that is the culture we desire and we endure till the end. So as Christians our mind must maintain the atmosphere of the Holy angels and what they experience when they Go before an all knowing, all powerful, Omnipresence God singing “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!”

So friends stay focused, remain faithful, love one another and endure till the end and never forget to STUDY&PRAY

June 9, 2015

MY FRIENDS, YOU MEAN HIS BLOOD WILL NEVER LOOSE IT’S POWER?

“Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.” Acts 20:28 (ESV)

A blood transfusion to a sinner is done if our body can’t create blood properly because of the rapid growth of Sin. So if we seek salvation, a transfusion must take place. In addition, a lifesaving transfusion cannot come from just anybody’s blood, it has to be the pure and holy blood of Jesus Christ that never looses it’s power.

Because it is the “blood that Jesus shed for [you and] me, way back on Calvary; Yes my friends, His blood is what gives us strength from day to day,” and once we allow Christ to become our blood donor,  His power through His Spirit becomes our power and through this power our strength is renewed day after day as we allow Christ blood to Penetrate every fiber of our being.

As we look back, when we first allowed the guiding hand of the Master to take full control, when a transfusion first took place and we had begin to take on the character of Christ, but somehow we allowed our focus to be distracted on things below and not on heavenly things.

So the mire and dirt of the world accumulated and contaminated what was becoming perfectly good character traits in our life, but now we have moved away from the presence of God and our heart and thought patterns has become corrupt, and we need once again the purifying power of God’s Word and “The blood of Jesus Christ that cleanest us from all sin [and unrighteousness.] 1 John 1:7 (KJV)

We must now find once again that “stream that flows steady from Calvary, a crimson tide so deep and wide. It washes whiter than the purest snow and if we keep our eyes stayed on Christ as we continue to allow Him to transform our heart and Character like His, we will one day soon have the blessing of seeing Christ face to face to thank Him personally for what he has done for us on Calvary that allowed this process to take place that saved our soul.

Blessed are those who wash their robes, in the pure blood of Christ which then gives us the right to the tree of life that is only found through the gates into the city that has been prepared for the redeemed .But this will only occur if we continue to have a close and personal relationship with God which then gives us total access to the abiding love grace and mercy of Jesus Christ.

And that only comes through the continuous Studying of His Word, while allowing a full and complete transfusion that brings about a transformation from self to that of Christ. His Word must be a part of every thought, activity, conversation, and motive, of our life as our lifestyle begins to magnify Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Any other attempts to do otherwise will only amount to failure. It can never be about us when Christ takes full control. So now with the blood of Christ running continuous through our veins, we can now become blood donors for the Master, as we tell the world about this saving blood that gives hope, and salvation to all who believes, and it will never lose its power.

So friends stay focused, remain faithful, love one another and endure till the end and never forget to STUDY&PRAY

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June 8, 2015

MY FRIENDS, IT’S NOT OVER UNTIL GOD SAYS SO BECAUSE HE HAS NO LIMITS!!

It’s not over, it’s only the beginning when God takes control because His “grace is sufficient for [us], for [His] power is made perfect in [our] weakness,” so He never gives up, as He prepares us for what we are not able to handle right now and so it will always seem “darkest just before dawn, the hardest season we will ever experience.”

But my friends, “we are closer than we have ever been before, so look to the sky and focus on” “In the beginning [when] God created the heavens and the earth. God’s word tells us “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; Gen 1:1-4 (NKJV) My friends, and God saw the light, that it was good. And He sees the best of us in spite of the darkness that we create throughout our journey.

As we look at our life, and then we look at the life of Christ, we can then ask ourselves, what have we done or haven’t done throughout the majority of our life that is not deserving of the death penalty. How many times has the potter formed and reformed our life and never once has our God decided that the process of reform of our character is not worth the effort.

In addition, because of the time and effort He has taken transforming us into His likeness, it gives us the right to say, we are a “chosen generation a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that [we] may proclaim the praises of Him who called [you and I] out of darkness into His marvelous light;”1 Peter 2:9 (NKJV) Yes, we can “trust the one who died for our Sins.”

The one who traveled through the Jordan trail “Down the Vía Dolorosa called the way of suffering like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, but He chose to walk that road out of His love for His chosen. Rejected by the religious leaders, standing trial before Pilate, before being sentence to death, for admitting to be the Son of God.

“The high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “What further need do we have of witnesses?  You have heard the blasphemy! What do you think?” And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death.” Mark 14:61-64 (NKJV)

Slapped, brutalized, beaten, spit upon but the journey continued! Crowds looking on, rabble rousers are shouting, women weeping, hecklers mocking, soldiers harassing, His disciples abandoning Him, “The principalities and powers of darkness  assembled around the cross, casting doubt into the hearts of men and now His mission is belittled to that of a out of touch, Crazy street preacher.

But my friends the journey continues through us, because Christ is now finishing what He started in the beginning, in us, as we move out with the passion of Christ with crosses in Hand as we witness to the world that Jesus lives, and He saves and one day soon he will return to take His faithful to a place, Eye have not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man, The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”1 Cor. 2:9 (NKJV)

So friends stay focused, remain faithful, love one another and endure till the end and never forget to STUDY&PRAY

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June 7, 2015

MY FRIENDS, WHAT ELSE MUST OUR GOD DO TO SAVE?

God is a Sovereign Majesty, an all-powerful, all knowing, all wise, and Omnipresence being, “every beast of the forest is [His], and the cattle on a thousand hills. [He] knows all the birds of the mountains, and the wild beasts of the field are [His]. “If [He] were hungry, [He] would not tell [us]; For the world is [His’], and all its fullness.” (Ps. 50:10-12) (NKJV)

And because of our inability to go to him like we would go to a friends house for dinner, as we knock and wait for a response to enter. Our God, comes to us. This awesome God, the Creator of all things, humbled and lowered himself a little lower than the angles, to come to the very one’s He created and not for the purpose for us to serve him as he sits in some royal court surrounded by an array of subjects.

No my friends, He came to serve. Which tells us, we are no longer lost sheep, He has found us, cleaned us up and now He is preparing us on every level for life eternal. But with that privileged, there is a responsibility, for  “whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. Matt 10:22 (KJV) So we must now tell the good news, which let’s us know.

“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” Rev. 5:12 on our behalf. And now we should understand with no reservation that we are children of the King. So we now must give it all to the Master.

Not tomorrow, but at this very moment we have to put on the whole armor of God, “because we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Eph. 8:12 (NKJV) And with this armor  Satan cannot  intimidate, or discourage us, because we are  children of the King and He protects His own.

And our faith also tells us, we have been chosen” for such a time as this. Because, “God from the beginning choose us for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called [us] by the gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught,” that tells us, “God cares for everything and sustains everything that He has created. He who upholds the unnumbered worlds throughout immensity, at the same time cares for the wants of the little brown sparrow that sings its humble song without fear.

When men [and women] go forth to their daily toil, as when they engage in prayer; when they lie down at night, and when they rise in the morning; when the rich feasts in his palace, or when the poor gathers his children about the scanty board, each is tenderly watched by the heavenly Father.

No tears are shed that God does not notice. There is no smile that He does not mark. If we would but fully believe this, all undue anxieties would be dismissed.” (Steps to Christ, A Knowledge of God, pp 86) But it is only when we believe those words with such a passion that we carry out the mandate of our Savior and carry our cross as we become “witnesses [for Him] in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

So friends stay focused, remain faithful, love one another and endure till the end and never forget to STUDY&PRAY

June 6, 2015

MY FRIENDS, OH THE GRACE AND MERCY OF OUR RIGHTEOUS JUDGE!!

As we sit in court and listen at our case brought before the judge, we notice, as he listens he doesn’t look down at his notes or fumbles through a stack of papers going over our file, he listens attentively at every word spoken by the prosecutor and the defendant and then he makes a judgement based on the law not on our emotions.

So it is with our Savior, one day soon “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. Corinthians 5:10 (NIV) My friends, God has herd the accusation against His children who have been His faithful disciple’s, while carrying their cross and witnessing to others.

Allegation and charges of Past sins and abominations. But, as we stand before the judge who is also our defendant, who knows through our faith and endurance that we are Repentant sinner’s because in the presence of the Lord daily, we laid prostrate before Him as we realized what Christ reparation was all about on our behalf.

In addition, as a Child of God we also understand that our only hope for Salvation was through the blood of Christ and the cross. That statement tells His chosen that our faith in what Christ has done for us, gives each of us hope for eternal life.

So now we are justified through our sincere belief in what the cross has done for us as we allow self to die daily through God’s Spirit as we Study the Word of God while standing in the presence of our Savior who Pardons and justifies us as an adopted child of the King.

And once our sincere repentance reaches the courts of heaven our Savior who is our Advocate, goes before the father, for John tells us in 1 john 2:1 (KJV) “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” who’s blood made this process possible.

And once before the father, He says, these are my children, “I reprieve them from the condemnation of death, giving them My life insurance policy—eternal life—because I have taken their place and have suffered for their sins. He [and she] is even My beloved sons [and daughters].”

Thus man [and woman], pardoned, and clothed with the beautiful garments of Christ’s righteousness, stands faultless before God…..It is the Father’s prerogative to forgive our transgressions and sins, because Christ has taken upon Himself our guilt and reprieved us, imputing to us His own righteousness. His sacrifice satisfies fully the demands of justice (E.G. White Our High Calling, page 51)

And now we can sing praises to the king and say with full assurance that “Our hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness we dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean in Jesus’ Name.” But my friends, there are still challenges for most of us in allowing self to die and turning our life over to the unknown or just terrified where Christ my lead.

But we must all remember, when Satan places fear within us, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Tim. 1:7 (NKJV) And now we must delight greatly in the Lord; for our soul rejoices, as we consecrate our life for the Good Shepherd who died on the cross for our Salvation and life eternal.

So friends stay focused, remain faithful, love one another and endure till the end and never forget to STUDY&PRAY

June 4, 2015.

MY FRIENDS, FOLLOW THE ONE WHO HAS BEEN THIS WAY BEFORE!!

Forty years earlier, the Israelite’s stood at the threshold of the promise land, only to be denied entrance because the faithless multitude had refused to focus on where God had brought them from. But how does one forget the plagues of Egypt, and the Passover night, how does one forget the parting of the waters at the red sea?

How does one forget the food of angels from heaven for nourishment, and water from a mountain for thirst? What a sad scenario to have seen and heard the mighty power of God, and still be denied entrance to the Promise land. My friends, the power of God has not been hid from us, what a sad scenario to be denied into the promise land because of our unbelief.

Joshua Israel’s new leader, remembered listening to the reports of the twelve spies who said “We went to the land where you sent us. It really is a land flowing with milk and honey, but the people who live there are giants. But only Caleb and Joshua out of the multitude over twenty knew the power of God and what He had done for them in the pass and they also knew, He is the one who had created the giants.

“Let’s go take possession, we should be more than able to conquer it.” Were their words to the congregation, But Satan encouraged doubt from the faithless and now only Caleb and Joshua remained out of the million plus, who were over twenty who died in the wilderness. Yes my friends only two over twenty knew where God had brought them, only two over twenty had been this way before.

They knew from personal experiences what the fear of the unknown would do to someone who would not let the presence of the Lord determine their destiny. So that is why Joshua’s mandate to the multitude was to follow the covenant of the Lord “since you had never been this way before.”

So today as God’s Children, the journey we are now traveling to the promise land stands on the other side of our trials, and tribulations, it is unchartered territory to us, but our Lord and savior Jesus Christ has been this way before. He knows the rough terrain.

He knows the temptations and hardships one must encounter daily from the forces of evil, He knows the pain of the road we must travel, and the exhaustion of the constant battles from Satan. John 4:6 (KJV) tells us “Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well….” Yes my friends, even Jesus Christ got tired and weary.

But our Savior never lost focus of His goal, which was Calvary, not Jacobs well, so He continued because His love for us never wavered, He knew our fragile framework because He was our Creator; He remembered that we are made from the dust of the ground and what challenges we will encounter as we carried our cross.

But who else to Guide us along this journey but someone who has been this way before, and finished the course. So remember when you are overwhelmed with the trials of this life, remember our Savior has been this way before, He will guide us every step of the way on our journey to the Promise Land, if we believe and endure.

“Whom have I in heaven but You? And I have no delight or desire on earth besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the Rock and firm Strength of my heart and my Portion forever.” Psalm 73:23-26 (AMP)

So friends stay focused, remain faithful, love one another and endure till the end and never forget to STUDY&PRAY

June 4, 2015

MY FRIENDS, 21 CENTURIES LATER, NOW IT IS OUR TIME!!

On the day of Pentecost where suddenly there came a sound from heaven like the rushing of a violent tempest blast, as it filled the whole house in which they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues resembling fire, which were separated and distributed and which settled on the whole assemble.

Acts is a history of the early church and the spread of Christianity among the Gentiles during this time period after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the struggles that the early churches encountered, and just like today, the Harvest was plentiful but the workers were few, as the call went out for his disciples to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel.”

And once this happened, The love, grace and mercy of Christ was carried to the remotest parts of the empire and in a few generations Christianity had invaded nearly every level of society. The Apostle Paul, one of the main characters of Acts, we can all say with no reservations, has set the bar for discipleship, carrying your cross and witnessing to a level that very few are willing to go there.

And the reason is, simply, the world and if you are included in the world are just not willing to “Set all of one’s affection on things above, but on things of this earth.[that will eventually fade away]” Col 3:2 (NKJV) But I need you to ask yourself today, do I have this same passion towards discipleship, carrying your cross and witnessing as Paul?

And if the answer is no, then ask yourself in the presence of God why not? Because you know of Christ righteousness, you know of His love, grace and mercy, you know He died on Calvary for each of our sins and the sins of all the world, you know the prophecy of Matt. 24, and that it is being played out each day.

And you also know, that we are moving closer and closer to when God will say to his Son, let’s go get my faithful Children. They that are unjust, let them be unjust still: and they which are filthy, let them be filthy still: and they that are righteous, let them be righteous still: and they that are holy, let them be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man and woman, according as his work shall be. Rev. 22:11-12 (NKJV)

Nothing that has to do with our Salvation or the salvation of others has been hidden from you in God’s word. So where is our Passion for Salvation, and the Salvation of others as we take the good news to a world whose Spiritual compass is pointing toward perdition? Yes this Same Spirit that Luke wrote about in Acts, 21 centuries later, we can receive this same power.

In addition, God has chosen us to finish His work and it can only be done if we have the passion of Christ to do it. “The abruptness with which the book of Acts closes is not accidental; it deliberately suggest that the thrilling narrative is unfinished, and that the acts of God through the spirit are to have their sequel throughout the Christian dispensation each successive generation adding a chapter full of beauty and power to the one who preceded it. (E.G. White, Acts of the Apostles pp v)

So today my friends, ask yourself  how am I, that sit each week on my special pew at church, contributing to the continuation of acts “for such a time as this” in the 21^st century. This same Spirit, this same rushing,  violent tempest blast that set one’s tongue on fire is still available, it still seeks after, and lones for a few good men and woman.

So friends stay focused, remain faithful, love one another and endure till the end and never forget to STUDY&PRAY