First I must apologize for not publishing anything over the past few days. I've been busy studying a very interesting part of the Word of God - The Tabernacle.
I've been reading and studying in Exodus lately about the Israelites, Moses, Mount Sinai and the instructions to build the Tabernacle. I have found some very interesting parallels, types and shadows that are reflected in our approach to God today. (I hope to have my draft published for viewing in a day or so.)
So often people try to get to God on their own terms, and don't care much about God's ways, plans and purposes. In the process they get "kicked" out of God's presence, because they have entered the throne room in the wrong manner.
I you were to bust open the door to the throne room of the queen of England or another Monarch, and run up the hall shouting your demands you'd probably be shot within a few moments and/or ushered out by some rather large, strong soldiers. Yet, we think we can do this very thing when entering into the Throne of Almighty God!
What about the scripture in Hebrews that says we can enter into the throne room of Grace boldly to find help in time of need? The writer of Hebrews is writing to Christians, who should have already taken the appropriate steps to becoming accepted into God's presence.
I'm sorry to be the one to break it to you, but the books from Romans through the Revelation of Jesus Christ are not written to or about sinners, and people not serving God. Rather these books are written to people who have accept the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as found in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Acts and have given their lives to Jesus and now serve Him. They are not meant to be instructions for sinners on the way to be saved, or enter God's presence. No that is what the Old Testament and the first five books of the New Testament are for. The other 22 books in the New Testament are instructions and doctrine for the Christian who already understands some things about the Gospel and Truth of Jesus.
If you are not a regular in the throne room of God, next time you enter don't make a show of who you are rather, make a display of who Jesus is!
Yours for God's Plan of Approach,
Pastor Fred
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Your Life is Like a cloud of steam....
We find in James these words:
What is your life? What are you doing with your life in the short time you have left? Time is all you have, and it is very fleeting and short! What are your ambitions, goals, desires? Are they worthy of the time needed to do them?
Don't waste the time you have, rather aim at what is really important in life, and seize the day! Don't let it be said of you when you are dead and gone, "They were a nice person, but I don't remember anything that they did...."
Rather let it be said of you, "They were a child of God," or "That was a true Christian, who showed the love of God everywhere," or "Their life was full of God's Love." What will be the epitaph on your tomb?
Paul wrote these words:
You don't have to wait for God, God is waiting for you. Today is always a good day to turn your life around and get in with the "God Gang"! Don't waste your life anymore let Jesus show you a better way!
Yours for Time well spent,
Pastor Fred
Jam 4:13-15 BBE How foolish it is to say, Today or tomorrow we will go into this town, and be there for a year and do business there and get wealth: (14) When you are not certain what will take place tomorrow. What is your life? It is a mist, which is seen for a little time and then is gone. (15) But the right thing to say would be, If it is the Lord's pleasure and if we are still living, we will do this and that.Your life is like a cloud of steam, it rises up for a moment then is gone. You saw the form of something for a moment but it vanished, before you could determine what it was. Mist, Steam, Clouds, Smoke all figments of something great, but that is now gone!
What is your life? What are you doing with your life in the short time you have left? Time is all you have, and it is very fleeting and short! What are your ambitions, goals, desires? Are they worthy of the time needed to do them?
Don't waste the time you have, rather aim at what is really important in life, and seize the day! Don't let it be said of you when you are dead and gone, "They were a nice person, but I don't remember anything that they did...."
Rather let it be said of you, "They were a child of God," or "That was a true Christian, who showed the love of God everywhere," or "Their life was full of God's Love." What will be the epitaph on your tomb?
Paul wrote these words:
2Co 6:1-2 BBE We then, working together with God, make our request to you not to take the grace of God to no purpose. (2) For he says, I have given ear to you at a good time, and I have been your helper in a day of salvation: see, now is the good time; now is the day of salvation:
You don't have to wait for God, God is waiting for you. Today is always a good day to turn your life around and get in with the "God Gang"! Don't waste your life anymore let Jesus show you a better way!
Yours for Time well spent,
Pastor Fred
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Places God Records His Name!
Yesterday while reading in Exodus 20 I came across a couple verses that threw me into a studying frenzy!
Here is the verse:
Especially notice the last phrase.
"In every place where I record My name I will come to you, and I will bless you." First of all you must realize that this phrase is linked to the first part of the verse, and the following couple verses. As a matter of fact this truth can be traced all the way through the whole Bible!
(Transliterated this verse could say:
The places where God's Name is marked, and when viewed brings remembrance of God. In these places God's blessing is found!)
Let me see if I can discuss it in short. (If you would like a complete copy of this study please email me.)
Let's go to 2 Corinthians 4:7
The "Treasure" Discussed in this verse in its simplest form would be the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Salvation from our Sins. The "Earthen Vessel" refers to an implement or container that contributes to the usefulness of the user and is made of clay. (Which is breakable.)
In the Old Testament God asked His people to make altars of earth upon which they would offer sacrifices of worship. Now we become the earthen altar, within which Jesus places His Glory, Power, Salvation and Gospel!
Let's go to 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
In this scripture the believer is described as the "Temple of the Holy Spirit". Is there not an altar within a temple? Is there not the Name of a God within a temple? We are not our own Jesus owns us!
Let's take a step farther. Remember that Exodus 20:24 referred to a place in which the name of God has been recorded?
When we are Baptized into Christ in water and Spirit we put on HIS NAME!
Galatians 3:26-4:6
If we are now children then we must also have the family Name!
Notice these verses which describe to us the proper method of Baptism, which always included the NAME of JESUS!
Acts 2:38-41
Acts 10:44-48
Acts 19:1-7
1 Corinthians 6:11
Summary:
Jehovah seems to have been looking ahead in time and telling us that upon whatever earthen vessel his name is marked there shall the blessings of God be! In the New Testament we have the revelation of the fullness of God's name - Jesus! When we are baptized "in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins", and filled with the Spirit of Christ, not only does this cleans us from our sins, but it also stamps upon us the family name - JESUS!
Yours for the Name of JESUS,
Pastor Fred
Here is the verse:
Exodus 20:24An altar is a place of sacrifice, consecration, separation, forgiveness, repentance, renewal and judgment. God's Altar was to be of earth. Never of cut or hew-en stones, but raw stones and dirt. Also, this verse describes two types of offerings upon this earthen altar. (Note: Both of these sacrificial offerings were to be free-will. In other words you do it because you want to not because you have to.) First, the burnt offering which is an offering of judgment and repentance. Second, the peace offering which is an offering of thanksgiving and worship.
24 An altar of earth you shall make for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I record My name I will come to you, and I will bless you.
Especially notice the last phrase.
"In every place where I record My name I will come to you, and I will bless you." First of all you must realize that this phrase is linked to the first part of the verse, and the following couple verses. As a matter of fact this truth can be traced all the way through the whole Bible!
(Transliterated this verse could say:
The places where God's Name is marked, and when viewed brings remembrance of God. In these places God's blessing is found!)
Let me see if I can discuss it in short. (If you would like a complete copy of this study please email me.)
Let's go to 2 Corinthians 4:7
The "Treasure" Discussed in this verse in its simplest form would be the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Salvation from our Sins. The "Earthen Vessel" refers to an implement or container that contributes to the usefulness of the user and is made of clay. (Which is breakable.)
In the Old Testament God asked His people to make altars of earth upon which they would offer sacrifices of worship. Now we become the earthen altar, within which Jesus places His Glory, Power, Salvation and Gospel!
Let's go to 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
In this scripture the believer is described as the "Temple of the Holy Spirit". Is there not an altar within a temple? Is there not the Name of a God within a temple? We are not our own Jesus owns us!
Let's take a step farther. Remember that Exodus 20:24 referred to a place in which the name of God has been recorded?
When we are Baptized into Christ in water and Spirit we put on HIS NAME!
Galatians 3:26-4:6
If we are now children then we must also have the family Name!
Notice these verses which describe to us the proper method of Baptism, which always included the NAME of JESUS!
Acts 2:38-41
Acts 10:44-48
Acts 19:1-7
1 Corinthians 6:11
Summary:
Jehovah seems to have been looking ahead in time and telling us that upon whatever earthen vessel his name is marked there shall the blessings of God be! In the New Testament we have the revelation of the fullness of God's name - Jesus! When we are baptized "in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins", and filled with the Spirit of Christ, not only does this cleans us from our sins, but it also stamps upon us the family name - JESUS!
Yours for the Name of JESUS,
Pastor Fred
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Stewardship Part One: Time
Over the past week or two, I've felt a real tug in my spirit to pay more attention to proper Christian stewardship.
What is stewardship? The Holy Bible describes stewardship in this way:
Read with Me a couple scriptures before we move on. (Click on scriptures to read them.)
God has given us so many wonderful thing! Health, Strength, Life, Breath, Family, Friends, Employment, Houses, Vehicles, Money and the list can go on and on. Some people have more and some people have less. It doesn't matter what you have, or even how much you have. What really matters is what are you doing with what you have?
I purposely left out of the above list on of the most important commodities that God has given us. Why? 1) Because we often over look its value and importants. 2) Because above all I believe that God has given it to us to use wisely, and we fail every day!
What is it? TIME! We play with time as if it doesn't exist. We manipulate time for our own purposes, uses, and desires. We are NOT good stewards of the time that God has given us! Someone was quoted to have said, "Time is the coin of Life, Don't let a fool spend it for you!"
How often do we waste time needlessly? Probably every single day! We waste time doing frivolous things that mean nothing. Don't get me wrong, I like to take a break and play a computer game sometime too, but it isn't what we are doing so much as how long we do it. Jesus didn't save us from our sins, just to sit on our rear-ends watching our favorite Television Show! Jesus washed our sins away so we could be stewards of the Kingdom of Heaven!
Is salvation truly free then? Yes! Salvation is still free. You are not required to work for salvation, nothing we can "do" is ever good enough. Jesus paid for salvation in the garden, on the Cross and in the grave. His precious blood was spilt to paid for the removal of our sins. In order to be saved and washed from our sins, we must believe and have faith in Jesus Christ and His Gospel. We must have faith that His sacrifice was sufficent to set us free from our sins. Then we must understand that we are all born in sin; everyone is a sinner - no one is guiltless! Acknowledging our sin should cause us to be sorry that we have rebelled against the will of the Almight God. This sorrow will bring true heartfelt, tearful repentance of our sins. This brings the forgiveness of God into our lives and it feels wonderful. Next we must get the stains of sin out of our spirit and soul. We do this by being baptized by imersion in water for the remission of our sins. We must be baptized in the NAME of JESUS CHRIST, as it is the only name with the power to invoce the cleansing blood of Jesus into our lives. When we come out of the water we are now also cleansed. So we have been Forgiven and Cleansed, which means we are now empty! The sin that was in us is gone, and there is now void in our spirits which must be filled. This is where the gift of the Holy Spirit comes into play. After the above is finished we open our mouths, and hearts in honest, transparent worship to Jesus for His gift of Salvation, and then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit of Christ into your spirit! The first evidence that you have been filled to overflowing is when Christ's Spirit begins to speak through your mouth in a language that you don't understand; a language of man or angels! (Acts 2:38)
As it says in John 3 you can't see or enter into the Kingdom of Heaven unless you've been spiritually born of Water and Spirit!
Now back to our topic of stewardship. Once you've been "saved" from your sins, as described above you are taken from the kingdom of darkness and put into the Kingdom of Light - the Kingdom of Heaven! Now you are a sworn resident of Jesus' Kingdom, and part of His family.
To explain this a little better let me ask some questions. You did not have to pay a cent to become a part of your family did you? No you were born or adopted, and your family loves you even though you don't pay for it. (hopefully) You don't have to pay for salvation either, just obey the scriptures! (as described above.) However, your family often askes you to take responciblity for things. Such as, cleaning your room, taking out the garbage, doing the dishes, household chores and the like. This is a form of stewardship. By your actions toward the above list you are showing your level of stewardship ability. If you obey and do what your parents ask, without much fuss, then you are probably a good steward. On the other hand, if you kick up a stink, and throw a temper tantrum you are not a good steward, and can be likened to the servant in Matthew who buried his treasure.
Stewardship is about taking care of God's Kingdom, and the portion of it that He has given to you! There are many areas of stewardship, which we will discuss at other times, but here we are looking at time.
TIME! Every Moment of every day has a purpose. It is our job to stay close enough to Jesus so we understand what each purpose is! Did you bump into someone to day accidentally? Maybe Jesus wants you to minister to that person. Did you end up in a hospital recently? Maybe Jesus wants you to reach out to a nurse, doctor or another patient? What are you doing with your time? Is it spent on you, and only you? Do you use your time to reach others? Are you giving your time back to Jesus? What are you doing to take care of the TIME that JESUS has GIVEN you in this LIFE?
Many preachers talk about tithes and offerings in regards to money. However, we ought also to give at the very least a TITHE (or tenth) of our TIME back to Jesus! Time is so valueable and we often waste it! It's like going to the store, and buying pop and a candy rather than Juice and fruit. You just wasted your money because the pop and candy will not benefit you at all! In the superstore of Life what are you buying with your time? Pop or Juice, Candy or Fruit? Are you sharing the Love of Christ to others or are you giving the cold shoulder to someone who may need your help? Are you giving to people in need or filling your bank accounts and home with riches? Do you spend time at the soup kitchen to help the homeless or are you playing your latest Nintendo or PS3 game?
Jesus gave you the TIME you HAVE LEFT, Don't Waste it!
Yours for stewardship of time,
Pastor Fred
PS> if you would like further information on anything discussed above please feel free to email me!
What is stewardship? The Holy Bible describes stewardship in this way:
(If you wish to look up the word in Strong's Concordence or Thayer's Bible Dictionary it the Greek word "oikonomos" number 3623 in the Greek sections.)
Thayer Definition:
1) the manager of household or of household affairs
1a) especially a steward, manager, superintendent (whether free-born as was usually the case, a freed-man or a slave) to whom the head of the house or proprietor has intrusted the management of his affairs, the care of receipts and expenditures, and the duty of dealing out the proper portion to every servant and even to the children not yet of age
1b) the manager of a farm or landed estate, an overseer
1c) the superintendent of the city’s finances, the treasurer of a city (or of treasurers or quaestors of kings)
2) metaphorically the apostles and other Christian teachers and bishops and overseers
Read with Me a couple scriptures before we move on. (Click on scriptures to read them.)God has given us so many wonderful thing! Health, Strength, Life, Breath, Family, Friends, Employment, Houses, Vehicles, Money and the list can go on and on. Some people have more and some people have less. It doesn't matter what you have, or even how much you have. What really matters is what are you doing with what you have?
I purposely left out of the above list on of the most important commodities that God has given us. Why? 1) Because we often over look its value and importants. 2) Because above all I believe that God has given it to us to use wisely, and we fail every day!
What is it? TIME! We play with time as if it doesn't exist. We manipulate time for our own purposes, uses, and desires. We are NOT good stewards of the time that God has given us! Someone was quoted to have said, "Time is the coin of Life, Don't let a fool spend it for you!"
How often do we waste time needlessly? Probably every single day! We waste time doing frivolous things that mean nothing. Don't get me wrong, I like to take a break and play a computer game sometime too, but it isn't what we are doing so much as how long we do it. Jesus didn't save us from our sins, just to sit on our rear-ends watching our favorite Television Show! Jesus washed our sins away so we could be stewards of the Kingdom of Heaven!
Is salvation truly free then? Yes! Salvation is still free. You are not required to work for salvation, nothing we can "do" is ever good enough. Jesus paid for salvation in the garden, on the Cross and in the grave. His precious blood was spilt to paid for the removal of our sins. In order to be saved and washed from our sins, we must believe and have faith in Jesus Christ and His Gospel. We must have faith that His sacrifice was sufficent to set us free from our sins. Then we must understand that we are all born in sin; everyone is a sinner - no one is guiltless! Acknowledging our sin should cause us to be sorry that we have rebelled against the will of the Almight God. This sorrow will bring true heartfelt, tearful repentance of our sins. This brings the forgiveness of God into our lives and it feels wonderful. Next we must get the stains of sin out of our spirit and soul. We do this by being baptized by imersion in water for the remission of our sins. We must be baptized in the NAME of JESUS CHRIST, as it is the only name with the power to invoce the cleansing blood of Jesus into our lives. When we come out of the water we are now also cleansed. So we have been Forgiven and Cleansed, which means we are now empty! The sin that was in us is gone, and there is now void in our spirits which must be filled. This is where the gift of the Holy Spirit comes into play. After the above is finished we open our mouths, and hearts in honest, transparent worship to Jesus for His gift of Salvation, and then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit of Christ into your spirit! The first evidence that you have been filled to overflowing is when Christ's Spirit begins to speak through your mouth in a language that you don't understand; a language of man or angels! (Acts 2:38)
As it says in John 3 you can't see or enter into the Kingdom of Heaven unless you've been spiritually born of Water and Spirit!
Now back to our topic of stewardship. Once you've been "saved" from your sins, as described above you are taken from the kingdom of darkness and put into the Kingdom of Light - the Kingdom of Heaven! Now you are a sworn resident of Jesus' Kingdom, and part of His family.
To explain this a little better let me ask some questions. You did not have to pay a cent to become a part of your family did you? No you were born or adopted, and your family loves you even though you don't pay for it. (hopefully) You don't have to pay for salvation either, just obey the scriptures! (as described above.) However, your family often askes you to take responciblity for things. Such as, cleaning your room, taking out the garbage, doing the dishes, household chores and the like. This is a form of stewardship. By your actions toward the above list you are showing your level of stewardship ability. If you obey and do what your parents ask, without much fuss, then you are probably a good steward. On the other hand, if you kick up a stink, and throw a temper tantrum you are not a good steward, and can be likened to the servant in Matthew who buried his treasure.
Stewardship is about taking care of God's Kingdom, and the portion of it that He has given to you! There are many areas of stewardship, which we will discuss at other times, but here we are looking at time.
TIME! Every Moment of every day has a purpose. It is our job to stay close enough to Jesus so we understand what each purpose is! Did you bump into someone to day accidentally? Maybe Jesus wants you to minister to that person. Did you end up in a hospital recently? Maybe Jesus wants you to reach out to a nurse, doctor or another patient? What are you doing with your time? Is it spent on you, and only you? Do you use your time to reach others? Are you giving your time back to Jesus? What are you doing to take care of the TIME that JESUS has GIVEN you in this LIFE?
Many preachers talk about tithes and offerings in regards to money. However, we ought also to give at the very least a TITHE (or tenth) of our TIME back to Jesus! Time is so valueable and we often waste it! It's like going to the store, and buying pop and a candy rather than Juice and fruit. You just wasted your money because the pop and candy will not benefit you at all! In the superstore of Life what are you buying with your time? Pop or Juice, Candy or Fruit? Are you sharing the Love of Christ to others or are you giving the cold shoulder to someone who may need your help? Are you giving to people in need or filling your bank accounts and home with riches? Do you spend time at the soup kitchen to help the homeless or are you playing your latest Nintendo or PS3 game?
Jesus gave you the TIME you HAVE LEFT, Don't Waste it!
Yours for stewardship of time,
Pastor Fred
PS> if you would like further information on anything discussed above please feel free to email me!
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
A Prayer Family!
THANK YOU! Thank You! Thank You!
I appreciate your prayer so much. My back is much better (See Prayer Requests Label). I am finally up and about. I still can't bend over much, but I can walk around and help the wife with the house work and taking care of the children. As long as I keep my back fairly straight I can do quite a bit! I went back to work last night. Wasn't too bad. I will be going back to my day job tomorrow.
Again thank you for your prayers!
This little incident has given me yet another inspiration for this blog. I will start a prayer request sharing portion. In this section you will be able to send me your prayer requests, I will post them, and we will all share in your request, pain, situation through prayer. We don't have to know every detail, but a name or a little info will help us to focus our prayer for your need.
Everyone needs a family, and what better family than a prayer family! The United Pentecostal Church International has a prayer section called "World Network of Prayer", which works along the same lines. They have prayer nets all over the world and when someone needs prayer, they are all called and everyone in the net prayers of that need! In this case this Prayer Family would be you, and the requests would be visible to all, and everyone who reads them will be able to pray. I will also leave space for praise reports!
So please send your prayer requests to my email address through the comment link below, and let's become a Prayer Family!
Yours for Prayer
Pastor Fred
I appreciate your prayer so much. My back is much better (See Prayer Requests Label). I am finally up and about. I still can't bend over much, but I can walk around and help the wife with the house work and taking care of the children. As long as I keep my back fairly straight I can do quite a bit! I went back to work last night. Wasn't too bad. I will be going back to my day job tomorrow.
Again thank you for your prayers!
This little incident has given me yet another inspiration for this blog. I will start a prayer request sharing portion. In this section you will be able to send me your prayer requests, I will post them, and we will all share in your request, pain, situation through prayer. We don't have to know every detail, but a name or a little info will help us to focus our prayer for your need.
Everyone needs a family, and what better family than a prayer family! The United Pentecostal Church International has a prayer section called "World Network of Prayer", which works along the same lines. They have prayer nets all over the world and when someone needs prayer, they are all called and everyone in the net prayers of that need! In this case this Prayer Family would be you, and the requests would be visible to all, and everyone who reads them will be able to pray. I will also leave space for praise reports!
So please send your prayer requests to my email address through the comment link below, and let's become a Prayer Family!
Yours for Prayer
Pastor Fred
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Prayer Requested
First of all I would like to thank everyone for coming and returning to visit this blog. I also, hope and pray that it is a source of inspiration and challenge for your life.
Saturday Morning when I was getting dressed I pulled something in my back. I am in a lot of pain, although prayer and Advil are help a lot! Today (Sunday) I can tolerate my pain, and we had church in spite of this set back. We are pretty sure it isn't slipped disk as there was no bulging on my lower spine. I am requesting that you join with us in prayer. May Jesus come and touch my back!
Also, I own my own business which takes care of our financial needs. Now that my back is hurt I will not be able to fulfill my contracts. I do have someone helping me out for a couple of days, but that is only temporary. If I can't get to work, I will not get paid, which means we will not eat and the bills will not be paid.
PLEASE PRAY for a quick healing!
Thank you in advance, and may Jesus richly bless you for your kindness, faith and togetherness!
Yours for health in Jesus Christ,
Pastor Fred
Saturday Morning when I was getting dressed I pulled something in my back. I am in a lot of pain, although prayer and Advil are help a lot! Today (Sunday) I can tolerate my pain, and we had church in spite of this set back. We are pretty sure it isn't slipped disk as there was no bulging on my lower spine. I am requesting that you join with us in prayer. May Jesus come and touch my back!
Also, I own my own business which takes care of our financial needs. Now that my back is hurt I will not be able to fulfill my contracts. I do have someone helping me out for a couple of days, but that is only temporary. If I can't get to work, I will not get paid, which means we will not eat and the bills will not be paid.
PLEASE PRAY for a quick healing!
Thank you in advance, and may Jesus richly bless you for your kindness, faith and togetherness!
Yours for health in Jesus Christ,
Pastor Fred
Friday, February 09, 2007
This is the Day that the Lord has made!
Good morning one and all! What a wonderful day this is! God is so Good, so righteous, so loving, so merciful; I love Him with all of my being!
There is a song that we sing, which also is a scripture; a Psalm of David.
It is amazing what a godly attitude can do for your soul! Thankfulness and joy to God is healthy for you mind, and for all who come in contact with you!
So I challenge you to pray this morning (or whenever you read this) and get a thankful, joyful attitude before God and man!
Yours for the Day the Lord has made!
Pastor Fred
There is a song that we sing, which also is a scripture; a Psalm of David.
Did you realize that your attitude in the morning can reflect upon the remainder of the day? As a matter of fact a joyful attitude in the morning can help you stay joyful no matter what happens through the remainder of the day!
This is the Day,
This is the Day,
That the Lord has made,
That the Lord has made,
I will rejoice,
I will rejoice,
and be glad in it,
and be glad in it.
This is the day that the Lord has made,
I will rejoice and be glad in it.
This is the Day,
This is the Day,
That the Lord has made!
It is amazing what a godly attitude can do for your soul! Thankfulness and joy to God is healthy for you mind, and for all who come in contact with you!
So I challenge you to pray this morning (or whenever you read this) and get a thankful, joyful attitude before God and man!
Yours for the Day the Lord has made!
Pastor Fred
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Daily Repentance...important or unimportant?
While praying this afternoon I received an inspiration!
Before I discuss this inspiration let me ask some questions, which will lay the foundation for our premis.
unimportant?
If you are a practicing Christian then you will probably say "Ofcourse repentance is necessary!" However, do you understand why? Maybe, maybe not.... Here is a little discussion about repentance.
Notice my title mentions "DAILY REPENTANCE" most people understand that repenting of sins if important, however, how often do you repent? This is the question which must be answered very honestly! Scripture has much to say about prayer, and repentance. Let us look at some of these verses.
Jesus teaches us here that whenever we pray we should include this simple outline in our prayer, which includes much needed repentance.
Personally, while I am praising at the beginning of my prayer I usually repent, as I find that it makes me more open to the Word of God, presence of God, voice of God and the leading of His Spirit.
If you haven't answered the above questions with these two verses then let me close with this summary.
First, an attitude of forgiveness toward everyone on our part is important. Without it we can't be forgiven of God. If we aren't forgiven of God then our prayers will most likely be answered with a resounding "NO"! In order to come into the presence of God through prayer, we must enter without any baggage. No weights or sins are allowed into the throne room of God. Therefore, if we are to gain audience with Jesus we must first repent of our sins!
As an illustration: I've been walking with God for most of my life, and I was brought up to fear, trust and pray to Jesus as my Saviour and Friend. However, as I'm only a lowly human, I can still make mistakes, and fall short of God's Glory. Therefore, no matter how long I am a Christian there is still and need for daily repentance.
I wouldn't want to miss the Second Coming of Jesus, and the taking away of His Church because I forgot to repent that day, and I had sinned! (Food for Thought!)
Yours for Daily Repentance,
Pastor Fred
Before I discuss this inspiration let me ask some questions, which will lay the foundation for our premis.
- Do you ever feel like you and God are not on the same page, frequency or station?
- Do you ever wonder why your prayers are not seemingly being answered favorably?
- Do you ever have a hard time praying?
- When you are finished praying do you feel better, worse or the same?
unimportant?If you are a practicing Christian then you will probably say "Ofcourse repentance is necessary!" However, do you understand why? Maybe, maybe not.... Here is a little discussion about repentance.
Notice my title mentions "DAILY REPENTANCE" most people understand that repenting of sins if important, however, how often do you repent? This is the question which must be answered very honestly! Scripture has much to say about prayer, and repentance. Let us look at some of these verses.
- First let us look at Matthew 6:9-15
- 9 In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.[a]
14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Jesus teaches us here that whenever we pray we should include this simple outline in our prayer, which includes much needed repentance.
Personally, while I am praising at the beginning of my prayer I usually repent, as I find that it makes me more open to the Word of God, presence of God, voice of God and the leading of His Spirit.
- Second Scripture: Philippians 2:12, 13
- ASV So then, my beloved, even as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; (13) for it is God who worketh in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure.
If you haven't answered the above questions with these two verses then let me close with this summary.
First, an attitude of forgiveness toward everyone on our part is important. Without it we can't be forgiven of God. If we aren't forgiven of God then our prayers will most likely be answered with a resounding "NO"! In order to come into the presence of God through prayer, we must enter without any baggage. No weights or sins are allowed into the throne room of God. Therefore, if we are to gain audience with Jesus we must first repent of our sins!
As an illustration: I've been walking with God for most of my life, and I was brought up to fear, trust and pray to Jesus as my Saviour and Friend. However, as I'm only a lowly human, I can still make mistakes, and fall short of God's Glory. Therefore, no matter how long I am a Christian there is still and need for daily repentance.
I wouldn't want to miss the Second Coming of Jesus, and the taking away of His Church because I forgot to repent that day, and I had sinned! (Food for Thought!)
Yours for Daily Repentance,
Pastor Fred
Monday, February 05, 2007
Nothing But Jesus
Here is an interesting verse for you.
sn't that wonderful! Oh, you don't know what "all these things are"? Well let me tell you!
This verse is found near the end of the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, one of - if not - the most important and famouse sermons that Jesus taught. Jesus taught these lessons first to His disciples, then to the crowds of people who were waiting for him in the valley. It the verses of chapter six prior to this verse Jesus was talking about things in life which we need daily to survive. Such as, food, health, shelter, and work.
Too, often we live our lives in utter selfishness. We work so we can pay for our car, and house, eat our food, play our games, and be with our family. And, last but not least much of our getting is so we can keep up with the "Jones's". This is the mentality that society would like us to have, because it makes the business man rich!
However, Jesus taught us another way. The road less travelled!
Jesus taught us to think of God first, then others, and lastly ourselves! Jesus taught us to seek ways to help the Kingdom of God grow, and ways to live in God's righteousness rather than to seek what will make you or I important, rich or look better than someone else. Here is an acronym which may help keep this idea in your mind:
Now don't miss understand me, we still must work, eat, sleep and live, but instead of focusing of making enough money to pay the bills, start focusing on what Jesus might want you to do. Jesus wants you to pay your bills, but if we offer Him first dibbs at the pot He always supplies the rest!
So in the coming weeks I challenge you to stop focusing on your needs, and to start focusing on the Needs of the Kingdom and His righteousness! Find out what Jesus wants you to DO!
Nothing But Jesus,
Pastor Fred
- Matthew 6:33 - "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you!"
sn't that wonderful! Oh, you don't know what "all these things are"? Well let me tell you!This verse is found near the end of the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, one of - if not - the most important and famouse sermons that Jesus taught. Jesus taught these lessons first to His disciples, then to the crowds of people who were waiting for him in the valley. It the verses of chapter six prior to this verse Jesus was talking about things in life which we need daily to survive. Such as, food, health, shelter, and work.
Too, often we live our lives in utter selfishness. We work so we can pay for our car, and house, eat our food, play our games, and be with our family. And, last but not least much of our getting is so we can keep up with the "Jones's". This is the mentality that society would like us to have, because it makes the business man rich!
However, Jesus taught us another way. The road less travelled!
Jesus taught us to think of God first, then others, and lastly ourselves! Jesus taught us to seek ways to help the Kingdom of God grow, and ways to live in God's righteousness rather than to seek what will make you or I important, rich or look better than someone else. Here is an acronym which may help keep this idea in your mind:
- J - Jesus
- O - Others
- Y - You
Now don't miss understand me, we still must work, eat, sleep and live, but instead of focusing of making enough money to pay the bills, start focusing on what Jesus might want you to do. Jesus wants you to pay your bills, but if we offer Him first dibbs at the pot He always supplies the rest!
So in the coming weeks I challenge you to stop focusing on your needs, and to start focusing on the Needs of the Kingdom and His righteousness! Find out what Jesus wants you to DO!
Nothing But Jesus,
Pastor Fred
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