Prelude to the Gift

There is a phrase that Pentecostals use that could lead some to misunderstand the infilling of the Holy Ghost.  That praise is, “Praying through to the Holy Ghost,” Let’s look at that first infilling on the first day of Pentecost.

Acts 1:4  And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.

Prelude to the Gift

1.  Jesus told his disciples, now apostles (ones sent forth); to wait for the promised gift of the Holy Ghost.

2.  They waited until Pentecost was fully come.

3. They were all with one accord.  This was a miracle of unity.

4.   Another miracle of the rushing mighty wind appeared.

5.   The miracle of the house being filled with the rush of wind.

6.   Miracle of cloven tongues like fire sat on each of them.

7.   Miracle:  All were filled with the Holy Ghost.

8.   Miracle:  All began to speak in other tongues.

God did not need, “Front line altar workers” to spend 15 minutes trying to get a first time visitor to “pray through to the Holy Ghost.”  These were not first time visitors, but “devout men.” Jesus gives the GIFT of the Holy Ghost to ALL who repent and are baptized in Jesus’ name.

Acts 2:1-5  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.  (2)  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.  (3)  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.  (4)  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.  (5)  And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.

The focus of the Church of Jesus Christ is to (1) PREACH AND (2) TEACH!  As our Heavenly FATHER calls individuals to CHRIST; THEN WE (3) BAPTIZE IN JESUS’ NAME.  The LORD THEN BAPTIZES WITH THE HOLY GHOST.  (4) MENTOR DISCIPLES.

After the LORD called Saul of Tarsus, (Acts 19) he came across some of John’s disciples (the Baptist) and asked them; “How were you baptized?”  They replied; “With the baptism of John.”  They had never even heard of the Holy Ghost.  Then Paul baptized them in Jesus’ name and they all received the Holy Ghost.

God does all things as it pleases Him and in His own time.  We must do our job of PREACHING AND TEACHING those whom God calls out of the world.  Only the Holy Ghost can convert, bring to repentance and save.  A person convinced against their will is of the same option still.

Only Jesus Saves

THE GREAT COMMISSION

Mark 16:15-18 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.  (16)  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.  (17)  And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;  (18)  They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

Matthew 28:19-20  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:  (20)  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Jesus Christ left His disciples with very specific instructions for the work that He wanted them to do.  As He called out the twelve and personally nurtured and mentored them in “The Way;” (that is the transformational life of a Christian, to become like Christ); He would still call disciples and mentor them through the original twelve.  This is the:

Jesus method

Lead the called to enter the Death, Burial and Resurrection of Jesus Christ through: Repentance, Water Baptism in Jesus Name, Receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost (evidenced by tongues).

1.    Proclaim the Gospel (the Death, Burial and Resurrection of Jesus Christ)

2.    Mentor those whom the Father calls

3.    Baptize those who repent and believe in Jesus Christ.

4.    Jesus will fill them with the Holy Ghost

5.    Train the Holy Ghost filled Christians to proclaim the Gospel.

PROCLAIM à MENTOR à BAPTIZE à GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST à TRAIN TO PROCLAIM

John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

It is the Father who calls us out of the word to be the church (called out ones).  But we can only enter the Kingdom through Jesus.

Our responsibility is to PROCLAIM, MENTOR, BAPTIZE, ALLOW CHRIST TO GIFT THE HOLY GHOST and MENTOR some more; those called out.  Only Jesus Saves!  Only Jesus gifts the Holy Ghost!  Only Jesus sends forth to spread His method of building the church.

Out of True Love, Belief and Commitment

As a child of twelve years old, my faith came under attack from some of my teachers at school.  It was at that time that the LORD led me into not just reading the scriptures and following doctrine; but to deeply meditate on the WORD.  Questions began to fill my mind.  “What if this human life were all that there is; would I still believe in obeying God?”  “Did I truly believe in God’s way of love, even if I lost all and was never able to attain prosperity and the good life?”  My answers to those types of questions were yes.  My obedience to the LORD and my belief in His way are based on my love for JESUS.  There are only two ways; LOVE and hate; GIVE and get; JESUS and Satan.  The upper case words above are God; the lower case words are the devil.

Yes; I love Jesus because He first loved me and gave me the ability to love.  Without Jesus, I can do nothing; but with Him, I can do ALL things!  Until we can search our soul and truly believe in Jesus Christ out of true commitment to His way, with out hope of reward, but because we have become that way; we are like liberal Christendom, looking to get; to get saved!  Habakkuk makes it all so clear:

Habakkuk 3:17-19 Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, (18) yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.  (19)  GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.

God has blessed me with these deep meditations nearly all of my life.  My walk with the LORD is because I love Him and seek to please Him.  My life is His!  The Impossible Dream was a song that was popular in the 60s and 70s.  One line of that song talks about being willing “to march in hell for a heavenly cause.”  Jesus marched into hell for a heavenly cause.  He emptied Himself and expects no less of His true followers. 

My life has been one trial and persecution after another.  The last ten years have been a nightmare of medical challenges with the past two months being off the charts.  PRAISE THE LORD!  I Thank you, Jesus; for each of those afflictions.  The blessings that came out of each have been greater than the price.  All of my life, God has been building in me treasures that will endure death.  What kind of treasure are you building?

Fear vanishes in the love of Christ

We know that God is LOVE and that He loved us while we were yet sinners; even before we were born.  From the foundation of the world, the LAMB of God was slain to redeem us.  Jesus desired to die for us.  It was His perfect will to become our Passover LAMB.  We were redeemed from the foundation of the world.  This was the ultimate expression of LOVE.  In the Eternal City of New Jerusalem the throne of the LAMB will be central.  Before our sin and after our sin, Jesus identifies with the gentleness of a lamb.  It is His loving and gentle way that He wants us to embrace; it is peace.  Jesus is the Prince of Peace.  Those who are truly His have already entered the LORD’s peace.  That peace comes with the Baptism of the Holy Ghost.  Fear of condemnation vanishes in the love of Christ.

1 John 4:18  There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

This is a brief statement, but the promise is powerful.  If you have fear, then you need Jesus.  No one needs to live under the fear of punishment.  Repent today and become right with God and live in His LOVE!

Walk worthy of the Lord

Part of being made in the image of God is that we share the LORD’s passion to create.  This is a great blessing, yet at the same time, it can be a stumbling block for us.  God shared this passion so that we could see the vision of eternity in His Kingdom.  In our short human life, which is hardly a prelude to the Kingdom, we can get lost in creating for ourselves.  The passion to create has been abused by every person who has amassed great empires for themselves.  The Donald Trumps and Bill Gates of our 21^st Century, the Vanderbilt’s and Rockefellers of old are no different than the Czars of Russia, Emperors of China, Emperors of Japan and all of the monarchs and dictators of history.  They shared and abused the passion to create by using it inwardly to become rich and powerful in this short human life.  None have and none ever will take these great amounts of wealth, riches and power into eternity!  Jesus told the rich of His time to sell all that they had; give it to the poor and follow Him.

We are to walk worthy of the LORD, pleasing Him with all that is within us.  We were created for God’s good pleasure, not for ourselves.  God has called us into His marvelous light to live with Him for all eternity.  Are we living worthy of our calling?

Colossians 1:10  That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

Hebrews 3:1  Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession,

Jesus is our forerunner into the inheritance of the Kingdom.  He became like us so that we can become like Him.  He was an apostle sent forth by God, we are apostles sent forth by Jesus.  The empire that we are to create here in this human life is the Kingdom of God.  The riches of that kingdom will go from here and now into eternity with Christ.  Those riches; are the character that we build in ourselves and those we bring to salvation.  Those riches will pass death and be taken into eternity.  True riches are people whom we lead to become the saints of the most high.

Now is the time to bear witness.  Now is the time to evangelize our community.  From the jaws of death, Jesus rescued me.  My wife refuted the doctors when they braced her that I would probably not make it through the night.  She told the doctors, “My husband is healed already, you just can’t see it.”  They also braced her that I probably suffered great brain damage and would never be the same, that I may never be fully conscious.  She stood firm on her witness that I was already healed, that it was Jesus' promise; He paid and fulfilled with His stripes.  Cindy’s greatest witness was while I laid hopelessly in a coma.  God’s greatest witness was manifested as my life was restored as she proclaimed so steadfastly.

I have resumed my ministry during my rehabilitation and will be going home within the next two weeks.  I have had to learn all over again, how to walk.  My greatest desire is to walk more worthy of the LORD.  Join me in a renewed commitment to the LORD!

Remembrance

After the great flood, God made a promise for all generations, never to destroy all flesh in a flood again.  As a sign of His promise, after every time it rains; there always appears a rain bow in the sky, even unto our day.

Genesis 9:13  I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

The patriarchs of our faith built altars as a remembrance of the promises God.  Abram built an altar in Bethel when God revealed His plan for him and his generation.

Genesis 12:8  And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.

Jacob as well made a deal with God at Bethel and erected an altar to the LORD.

Genesis 28:19-22  And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.  (20)  And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,  (21)  So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God:  (22)  And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

Bethel became a place of remembrance for Israel.  It was a significant place to meet with God.

Genesis 31:13 I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.

Where is your Bethel?

Where do you meet with God today?  For the blood washed in Jesus name; filled with the Holy Ghost Christian, meeting with Jesus is a state of being.  Once we are filled with the Holy Ghost, we become the LORD’s habitation.  We meet with the LORD every time we call upon His name in our heart, mind and being.  We live in an anointed state and the Holy Ghost should flow through us like rivers of living water.

We have many Bethels

The assembly for Praise and Worship Services should be a Bethel that we attend every week or more; along with Bible Studies, Prayer Meetings, the Bible, Praise Music, Prayer, Meditation, Study and places of natural wonder.  God is with us always.  Become more aware of the fact that the LORD is always with you.

Align your attitude with Christ

With a power antenna and a multiband radio, there are literally thousands of messages per second that can be received.  Add to that the thousands of satellite transmissions and cell phone channels; there are millions of wave lengths bombarding our lives continuously.  This was all by satanic design; the devil, who is the prince and power of the air.

Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

The enemy broadcasts in attitudes.  If he can change your attitude, you will surrender your thoughts, words and actions.

ATTITUDES à THOUGHTS à WORDS à ACTIONS

Align your attitude with Christ.  Let the JOY OF THE LORD rule your heart.  Take on divine thoughts!

Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

Working in a general office in 1980, we had a coworker named Fran.  Her attitude was a visible black cloud.  Everyday she arrived to work 30 minutes late.  When we would say, “Good morning Fran, she would snarl back a reply, “What’s so good about it!”  Half way through the morning, she would become a little more civil; but she carried an attitude that everyone was against her.  She condemned everyone and everything.  She never had anything good go her way.  Her life was a walking tragedy because her attitude was a magnet for evil and all things negative.  She was on a path of destruction.

It is easy to entertain a bad attitude.  It only takes a second.  Recognize how you feel and rebuke negative attitudes and feelings.  They all come from the devil.  Stop the attitude before it fine tunes into ungodly thoughts.

Bearing Fruit

Pruning plants is an amazing science.  When applied with consistent success it becomes the art of a green thumb.  Everything dead must be cut away.  Knowing where the strength of the plant lives gives the pruner a roadmap of other weak stems that will draw energy away from the core of the plant.  These fruitless stems and branches must be pruned away as well.  Even the strong parts must be pruned back to stimulate the plant’s potential growth.

Jesus is the true vine. Dead Christians will be removed from the body of Christ.  Living Christian’s will be pruned or purged to stimulate even greater growth.  If you are in Christ; this is a 24/7 commitment to your divine calling.  You can’t be dead some of the time and alive some of the time.  Every living organism that is not vibrant and alive will die.  You must make a choice and stick to that with your whole heart and being.   We are in Christ and He is in us, making us one.  Jesus will not be joined to dead wood.  Faith without works is dead.  We can replace the word works with the word fruit.  Faith that bears no fruit is dead.

John 15:1-2 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.  (2)  Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

We are called to surrender all to Jesus and to serve Him and His will.  Transformation into Christ is our goal.  We are to become more Christ like daily.  Church is not something we attend; we are the church and represent Jesus every minute of our lives.

Giving lip service to Christian belief does not make one a Christian.  To spend a life time going to church as a dead branch will not turn you into a living fruit bearing vine at the eleventh hour before Christ’s return.  No one gets a free ride on the coattails of a real Christian.  God knows your heart.  If you are just trying to get saved, salvation will escape you.  However; if we are willing to die in Christ and commit to real transformation in Christ, then there is still hope.  You must repent (die to the world of sin); be baptized in Jesus’ name for the remission of your sins (burry yourself in immersion baptism) and then arise a new creation in Christ with the in filling of the Holy Ghost as evidence with the speaking of tongues.

Acts 2:38-39 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.  (39)  For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

If you have been sitting on the fence; either commit to Jesus, or slide back into destruction with the rest of the world.  Though no one knows when Jesus will return; death, death can take anyone at any time.  If a mishap takes place today and you die, Jesus will have returned for you.  Death will sign and seal your fate.

Relative Righteousness

The world around us lives by comparisons and averages.  Teachers during my school days began grading on a curve; that is they would throw out the highest and lowest scores of an exam; and average all of the rest to establish a grading structure.  If you were a lazy student, this worked to your favor.  If you worked hard and had the highest score, this was frustrating.  Why should a 70% score be an “A” when your 100% was an “A?”  This was a perspective that began to grow in popularity.  It has infiltrated into every aspect of life and has lowered values and standards.  “At least I’m not as bad as so and so.” “Compared to others, I’m really doing well.”  This comparison perspective has led to unjust weights and measures.  The one pound can of coffee, may only be 9 ounces.  When one company got away with it; all of the rest followed.  When Hollywood personalities began living together outside of marriage, it was like a domino effect.  Today marriage is viewed as obsolete.  “Christian churches,” have embraced sinful lifestyles; even among their clergy.

The standard is Jesus!  He is the WORD!  The WORD can not be compromised.  It stands true forever.  We can have confidence in it that it will never change.  If we live in the WORD, we live in Christ and He lives in us.  The world is looking into a compromised mirror that deceives them into living in sin.  They take no responsibility for their calling in Christ.  True Christians live by the WORD and are transformed.

James 1:23-25  For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:  (24)  For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.  (25)  But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

Our liberal society is on a path of destruction.  Worldly Christianity is precisely that, worldly.  If there is no separation from the world then there is no Holiness.  God commands us to be holy!

Leviticus 20:7 Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.

1Peter 1:16  Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

When you examine yourself, use Jesus as the standard.  Comparative righteousness is no righteousness at all.  Don’t be deceived!

Vision

It is easy to stereotype, but these generalizations are never true one hundred percent.  Many women believe that no man will ever stop and ask for directions when he lost.  This does not fit me.  Knowing where I am at is always very important to me.  It has been my nature, all of my life, to set goals.  This requires an examination of past, present and future.  Goal setting was ingrained in me through reading many books on the subject of success.  Goals can be out of reach as long as they are not out of sight.  We must be able to visualize the goal.  What we can conceive and believe, we can achieve.  Vision is of the utmost importance.  The Bible even says so.

Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

God’s law or the WORD of God gives us VISION.  We need to know who we are, where we have been, where we are at and then set a goal of where we want to be.  We are created in God’s image.  God is reproducing Himself.  We were designed for success, engineered for accomplishment and endowed with the seeds of greatness. We were in the world and have been called out by God.  We have freedom of choice and only you can choose to be transformed into the greatness of your calling.  We each must answer God’s personal call.  We each must desire to set goals that are in alignment with God’s will for us.  We can only know God’s will by reading the WORD.  The Bible reveals our awesome human potential.  It describes enough of the framework for our future, that with prayer and meditation, we can take the sketch and add the details to make it live in color.  So often people read the Bible and don’t think about what the words really mean.  We must know the WORD intimately and make it a part of us. 

We know that Jesus will return soon.  “The kingdoms of the world shall become kingdoms of our LORD.”  We must meditate of what that wonderful world tomorrow will look like.  It will be free from evil, free from Satan.  It will be at peace, world peace.

Revelation 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

If we don’t image what the future will be like, there will be no vision, no goal and no reason to go forward.  Salvation is not the end!  Salvation is the beginning!  We must know what is beyond salvation.  It is awesome and almost beyond belief; but we will reign with Christ forever!  Think about what that means!  Get excited.

If we are only trying to avoid hell and damnation, we are missing the meaning and the fullness of our calling.

The Battle for Control of Your Mind

Combining the best of all tropical paradise spots of the world; white sandy beaches, crystal clear waters cascading into a flower lined fresh water pool along with the songs of birds and the perfect temperature year around is my imagination of the Garden of Eden.  In that garden there were two trees.  There was the tree of life and the tree of death (known as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil).  Man chose the tree of death and God closed off access to the tree of life.

From my room at the rehabilitation center, is the view of a perfectly shaped maple tree.  It was bare just three weeks ago; but now it has fully grown its leaves and blocks out the sky behind it.  That tree reminds me that every second we are making choices; life or death.  Will this thought bring me closer to Jesus or closer to the world?  It all begins with our thoughts.  What we entertain in our minds will direct our attitudes and our actions.  There is a battle going on for control of your mind!

Ephesians 2:2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—

After being bedbound for more than thirty days, it is like a learning how to walk all over again.  This morning I walked seven teen steps.  It has taken three weeks to get to this point.   The enemy does not what me to succeed and return to my ministry.  The first two weeks of rehab were seized with fear.  Then last Friday I tuned out the broadcast of the Devil and embraced Christ and stood up and transferred myself from the bed to the wheel chair.  Every day since, I have marked improvement over the previous day.

Eternity will only become real with study, meditation and prayer along with the Holy Ghost abiding within us.  We who are blood washed, baptized in Jesus’ name, filled with the Holy Ghost, tongue speaking apostolic Christians; we are anointed!  The light of Christ shines through us for others to see.  We bear witness of Jesus 24/7.  Protect your thoughts and dwell off the paradise to come.  Let the Holy Ghost take you to Heavenly places through prayer and meditation.  We have access to the tree of life.  Jesus lives in us.  Rebuke the broadcast of Satan.  He is the biggest broadcaster in the world, but we have the Holy Ghost.

Friend of Christ

Christians have been singing about friendship with Jesus for centuries.  God came to us in the flesh to show us the way to love, respect and obey Him.  As the Son, He showed us how to be in perfect submission.  Through the Holy Ghost, we see and how to be His coworker of the Gospel, His friend and friends to all humanity. In His humanity, He qualified to make us one with Him in His Divinity. We worship one God whose name is Jesus and He relates to us in all three forms of relationship.

Authority – Father

Subordinate – Son

Comforter – Holy Ghost

John 15:15  No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

We can only be the friend of God, if we obey Jesus.  By learning obedience to God as Father; we prepare to be the bride of Christ, the ultimate relation that a human can achieve.  All of my life has been preparing to be at the marriage supper of the Lamb; to overcome and sit with Jesus on His throne as His eternal partner.

My wife is my best friend.  God prepared her for me to help fulfill my calling and ministry.  She has my total confidence, because she seeks to live in God’s will making me her head in Christ.  She has total confidence in me because my life is in submission to Christ as my head.  She is my equal; my responsibility, which is my total desire, is to love her as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for Her (church). 

There is no room in the Kingdom of God for self centered thinking.  It is all about Christ and the, “least of His brethren.”  The bumper sticker is a lie of Satan that says, “He who dies with the most toys wins!”  Jesus told the Bill Gates of His day, “Sell all that you have and give it ALL to the poor and come follow me.”  Are you serious about being a Christian?  Are you truly a follower of “The Way” which is Jesus?

The Peace & Joy of The LORD

Face Book has been an awesome tool of reconnection.  After thirty five years, one of my former classmate’s first question to me was; “Are you still always so happy?”  To that person, my life was defined by happiness and joy.  When The Joy of the LORD lives within us; there comes an indescribable peace and happiness that radiates from us and is visible to all around us.  Was my life free of all stress back then?  High School years are tough for everyone.  My life was no exception. 

It was taught to me at a very young age; that we can live in the problem or we can live in Christ.  The Peace and Joy of the LORD are not dependant upon health, money and material things.  We can have Joy in the midst of trouble and trials.  Jesus has always been my guide and help in all things.  His will, has always been my desire to fulfill.  Knowing that my life is in His hands frees me from anxious thought and worry.  As the years have gone by that peace and joy has only become stronger.  Living in a state of prayer and supplication has become more natural.

Philippians 4:6-7  Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  (7)  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

To find this peace that passes all understanding, we must surrender ALL to Christ.  Today’s Christian world, believes in Christianity without surrender, sacrifice or commitment; but if we are going to follow Christ and become like Him; we have to surrender, sacrifice and commit.  If Jesus didn’t surrender to the Father, He would not have made the supreme sacrifice and we would be lost in our sin.  Jesus made a commitment and saw it through the end.

This human life is a proving ground.  Where we will spend eternity will be determined on what we have done with our human life.  Surrender to Christ today and set your path on overcoming and be transformed into Jesus and start living in the Joy and Peace of the LORD.

The Least Of These

There was a time, from before Edison’s light bulb, until World War II; that people started and ended each day with the rising and setting of the sun.  Men worked the fields and women took care of the home.  Both parents were available to the children all of the time.  The old TV shows, Little House on the Prairie and The Walton’s depicted this way of life.  Life revolved around family, friends and neighbors.  Helping the stranger was instilled like a thirst; it was automatic.  Every need that crossed your path was taken personally, like fulfilling your own thirst with a glass of water.  The question was never, “Are we going to help this person in need?” the only question was; “how?”  People had much less, but gave so much more.  Living Jesus’ words below was second nature.

Matthew 25:40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

People were concerned with people.  The coffee pot was always on the stove awaiting the unforeseen guest.  People partied with good food and conversation, which used to be the true riches of America; that is people working together.  It is people of Christian Character that made America great. 

Auntie Lottie and Uncle John were both children of polish immigrants.  They both were taught these “old fashioned” values.  No matter what time of the day or night you would stop by unannounced, the entire refrigerator was brought out to the table and you had to eat and drink coffee for endless hours.  When you left, they always sent you home with something.

The light bulb took people out of their homes and lured them into graveyard shift work around the clock.  World War II put women in the work force and the traditional family was split apart.  Children are carted off to all kinds of activities that have destroyed family time. 

Becoming dependant upon electricity has led to us into the slavery of consumer electronics.  Conversation has become a lost art.  Children today and many adults prefer to text than to talk.  Young people have their own chat language.  Spelling, handwriting and conversation are fast becoming obsolete.  The net result is a “me mentality.”  The focus of life is on self.  Giving and helping are after thoughts and get the leftovers.

Jesus is very clear in the Gospels of what is expected of a Christian.  Not very many professing Christians embrace the values that Jesus gave.  We each need to examine our own life and see how close we are living up to true Christian values.

Triumph of the human spirit

We have all heard the phrase, “The triumph of the human spirit.”  This, may sound like an non-biblical; New Age concept that excludes Christ and relies on “our inner self.”  But it is not some Voodoo, magic or mind game. 

God has given man a spirit.  That spirit separates man from animals.  That spirit carries the image of God with the desire to create and the capacity to love and to have dominion.  The image of God is not physical; it is spiritual.

Genesis 1:26  And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

We have control over our spirit and the power to keep it from guile!

Psalms 32:2  Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.

It is unbearable to have our spirit wounded and is worse than any sickness.

Proverbs 18:14  The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?

Man was created to have dominion, power, love and a sound mind.  This is all the starting point with every person ever born; of course within the structure of the family of God (every one leads and everyone submits).

”Man was designed for accomplishment, engineered forsuccess and endowed with the seeds of greatness.”

                                                                                Zig Ziglar

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

 God’s elect receive Divine Spirit

We live in the promise of the Holy Ghost, the power of God; that is if we have repented, been baptized in Jesus’ name and received the Holy Ghost.

John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

We are the temple of the Holy Ghost

1 Corinthians 6:19  What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

God lives in us!

This is hard to comprehend.  It takes the surrender of our spirit to receive the greatest spirit, which is Christ.  Jesus has taken me to death’s door during April 2011.  Stripped of everything but a whisper of life; God remained alive in me in order to build me up for His glory and purpose.  There is no credit to me except my surrender.  But even that surrender came from God through His faith within me; faith that He gave me. 

Job’s  victory was secure before Satan even approached the throne of God.  There comes a point in our walk with the LORD that makes our election sure and solid.  Not because of the triumph of the human spirit; but because of the triumph of Christ Jesus our LORD! 

The Race Is Not To The Swift – All Can Win!

All of my life, from early childhood, the LORD has placed me in HIS marathon race.  Even though, as in all races, there is only one who comes in first, (Jesus Christ crossed first in our race and we are all following Him as first fruits) all who complete a marathon are winners.  God’s marathon is the only race that can be run with patience.  All others are a fury to beat out all others.

God’s marathon race begins for us at our calling and will end at the LORD’s return or the end of our life.  It is an unusual race in that we pick up runners along the way; as many as who will join us; as the LORD will call.

Hebrews 12:1-2  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,  (2)  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

With a marathon, there is always the option to drop out along the way.  All races are completed in the mind before the actual event.  Every athlete’s greatest preparation is mentally seeing the event completed in their mind. 

All of my life I have been rehearsing the completion of God’s marathon.  The finish line is vivid and real; as my feet cross it.  The past two months have been an up hill grade, but Jesus has been by my side every inch.  The victory is still mine!

Friends, we must all know and prepare in advance our mind set in Christ.  Stay the course.  Failure is not an option.